A case report of a rare complication of bowel perforation in extreme lateral interbody fusion

Over the past decade, extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) has gained in popularity as a minimally invasive alternative to direct anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), and ALIF’s associated morbidity. Most notably, XLIF largely avoids vascular and visceral structures that are required to be mobilized in ALIF. In this case report, the authors describe a rare complication of a bowel injury in a 70-year-old male who underwent an L3–4 and L4–5 lateral transpsoas approach for interbody fusion.