Featured Case
L4/S1 Anterior Interbody Fusion for DDD with Radiculopathy
Courtesy of Dr. Steven Rapp, MD - Detroit, MI - Email Author
September 23, 2010
Pre-op MRI
Post-op
Case History: A 48 year old male
Chief Complaint: Lower back pain, left lower limb pain and parasthesias
Medical Hx: Unable to work for previous 11 mos., hypercholesterolemia, arthritis, work-related injury to spine 15 years prior
Habits: One pack a day smoker for 15 years
Previous Tx: Physicial therapy, hydrocodone
Diagnosis:
- Lumbar disc herniation L4-L5
- Lumbar spondylosis
Operation/Procedure:
Lumbar interbody fixation with two level TranS1 Axial Rod at L4-S1
Pre-sacral approach to interbody fusion
PSF (Avatar System, LifeSpine, Inc.) from L4-S1
Bone Graft:
- Local autologous bone
- Bone marrow aspirate
- Bone Void Filler (Bi-Ostetic BVF, Berkeley Advanced Biomaterials, Inc.)
Operations Room Set Up: Surgeon on access side, PA on contra-lateral side Postoperative Image/Comments
Post Op Comments:
- Restoration of sagittal balance
- Significant improvement in disc space height to 8mm
- Signficant opening of the foramen
- Patient is off of pain medication
- Patient reports that pain has gone from 7 out of 10 to zero