Full-endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion is a usable technique for lumbar stabilization surgery in an ASC, according to research published in Pain Physician and the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
The researchers examined 85 patients with intractable back pain and disc height loss who underwent full-endoscopic assisted transforaminal lumbar fusion procedure between 2011 and 2015, and followed up with them for 12 months. The researchers analyzed risk factors and outcomes. Solomon Kamson MD, PhD, the founder of Bothell, Wash.-based Spine Institute Northwest, was one of the study authors.
The key details to know:
1. The researchers didn’t observe any intraoperative complications.
2. OR time for patients undergoing two-level fusion was 110 minutes more than those with a one-level operation.
3. "The length of this study and its positive results on patients with advanced disc disease is very encouraging," Dr. Kamson said. "Performing laser spine surgeries within an ambulatory outpatient surgery setting makes a lot of sense. These patients, who have been rendered hopeless by the severity of their pain, are now recovering much sooner than those who undergo a traditional open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion."