Is it sufficient to treat adult lumbar spinal deformity using anterior lumbar interbody fusion with percutaneous pedicle screw fixation?

Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) has been performed for lumbar spinal restoration and stabilization without extensive paraspinal muscle damage or massive bleeding. The authors retrospectively investigated surgical results of multilevel ALIF followed by percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (PPSF) in adult lumbar spinal deformity (ALSD). This study included 28 patients with degenerative lumbar spinal deformity, who underwent selective multilevel ALIF and PPSF between January 2013 and August 2016 at our hospital. Standing X-rays were performed and coronal Cobb angle (CCA) of scoliosis, sagittal vertical axis (SVA), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), pelvic tilt (PT), and sacral slope (SS) were measured. Pain and functional assessment were performed using visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for low back pain and leg pain, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores. CCA, SVA and LL were significantly improved immediately after surgery and relatively well maintained until the last follow-up. After surgery, PT was significantly decreased and SS was increased, respectively. However, cases with SVA > 95 mm or PT > 30° showed a loss of correction in sagittal balance parameters to a greater extent at the last follow-up compared to the group of patients with minor sagittal imbalance. VAS scores for back and radicular pain, and ODI score were significantly decreased at the final follow-up (p < 0.05). Multilevel ALIF with PPSF yielded favorable clinical and radiological outcomes in coronal and sagittal balance without severe surgical mortality or morbidity in patients with ALSD. However, correction loss in sagittal balance was observed in cases with SVA > 95 mm or PT > 30˚.