Comparison of perioperative characteristics between two methods of minimally invasive transforaminal lumber interbody fusion in treatment of lumbar disc herniation

Objective To investigate the difference of perioperative characteristics between unilateral incision hybrid fixation using pedicle screws and translaminar screw and bilateral pedicle fixation in minimally invasive transforminal lumber interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 159 patients with single-level lumber disc herniation undergoing MIS-TLIF in Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2009 to December 2013. Patients were divided into two groups:69 cases underwent hybrid fixation using pedicle screws and translaminar screw (group A); 90 cases underwent bilateral pedicle fixation (group B). The perioperative characteristics, including operative time, blood loss, transfusion, ambulation time, hospitalization time after surgery, total hospitalization time, postoperative low back and leg pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score and its complication, were compared between the two groups. Results There was no significant difference in the common clinical data between the two groups (P> 0.05). The average blood loss and operative time in group A were significantly less than group Bblood loss:(85±46) ml vs. (110±52) ml; operative time:(111±13) min vs. (123±12) min, P< 0.01. No significant difference was found in ambulation time, hospitalization time, postoperative low back and leg pain VAS score and complication rate between two groups (P> 0.05). Conclusion Hybrid fixation by pedicle and translaminar screw in MIS-TLIF has less invasion and operation time than bilateral pedicle fixation.