Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 2, 2026
Surgical Approach and Complications of Stand-alone Lateral Trans-Psoas Interbody Fusion
Published on: February 14, 2025
Extreme lateral interbody fusion in spinal revision surgery: clinical results and complications
Matteo Formica1, Andrea Zanirato2, Luca Cavagnaro2
1Clinica Ortopedica-IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST, Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, GE, Italy. dott.formica@gmail.com.
Purpose Of The Study:
To evaluate clinical outcomes and complications of extreme lumbar interbody fusion (XLIF) in spinal revision surgery comparing our data with the available literature evidence about other fusion techniques.
Materials And Methods:
Retrospective analysis of patients underwent revision surgery with XLIF as interbody fusion technique. Demographic, comorbidity, surgical data, clinical results, and intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded.
Results:
36 patients, with a minimum follow-up of 28 ± 11.5 months, were included in the analysis. 41 levels were fused with XLIF. The mean number of previous spine surgery was 1.5 ± 0.7. Mean improvement in back pain and leg pain on VAS was 5.6 ± 1.4 (p < 0.01) and 3.5 ± 2 (p < 0.01), respectively. Mean improvement in the ODI score was 30.3 ± 7.3 (p < 0.01). 1 vertebral endplate fracture during interbody space preparation was reported during lateral approach. 5 patients (13.8%) complained quadriceps weakness and anterior thigh hypoesthesia fully recovered after 3 months from surgery, and in one case, a transient contralateral radiculopathy was observed. No implant failure was detected at final follow-up.
Conclusions:
XLIF is a reasonably safe and effective fusion technique in revision surgery that allows valid arthrodesis avoiding scarred tissue created by previous surgical approaches. Especially, XLIF reduces the risk of nerve root lesions, postoperative radiculitis, and durotomies compared to posterior fusion techniques.
