How I do it: biportal endoscopic spinal surgery for revision of adjacent segment disease after instrumented lumbar fusion.

BACKGROUND

Lumbar fusion with rigid fixation can be complicated by adjacent segment degeneration, which may cause neurological deficits and back pain, and occasionally necessitates revision surgery. This type of revision surgery is difficult to perform in a minimally invasive manner because it requires the revision of the original internal fixation instruments.

METHOD: We describe a biportal endoscopic spinal surgery (BESS) procedure for revision surgery due to adjacent segment disease after lumbar fusion with rigid fixation instruments. The radiological images and complete surgical procedure are presented.

CONCLUSIONS

BESS effectively enabled nerve decompression, intervertebral fusion, and revision of lumbar fusion with fixation instruments in a minimally invasive manner.