Comparison of Outcomes between Indirect Decompression of Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion and MIS-TLIF in One Single-level Lumbar Spondylosis: a case control study

Abstract

Background Minimal invasive spinal fusion has become popular in the last decade. Oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) is a relatively new surgical technique and could avoid back muscle stripping and posterior complex destruction as in minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). Methods Between December 2016 and September 2018, patients with single level degenerative spondylosis were selected to enroll in this retrospective study. Results A total of 21 patients that underwent OLIF and 41 patients that received MIS-TLIF were enrolled. OLIF showed significantly less blood loss and shorter surgery time compared to MIS-TLIF (p < 0.05). The improvement in segmental lordosis and coronal balance was significantly more in OLIF group than MIS-TLIF group (p < 0.05). When comparing with MIS-TLIF, OLIF was significantly better in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and visual analogue scale for back pain improvement at post-operative 6 months (p < 0.05). Conclusions Both OLIF and MIS-TLIF are becoming a mainstream procedure for lumbar degenerative-related disease, especially for spondylolisthesis. However, OLIF has shown to have less perioperative blood loss and shorter surgery time than that of MIS-TLIF. In addition, OLIF gives superior clinical and radiographic outcomes. While both OLIF and MIS-TLIF provide optimal clinical outcomes, upon comparison between the two techniques, the anterolateral approach of OLIF seems to be a superior option in modern day.