Uninstrumented posterolateral lumbar fusion for single level isolated disc resorption and/or degenerative disc disease.

The limited soft-tissue envelope technique for an uninstrumented single-level posterolateral lumbar fusion has been studied in a group of 23 patients. It resulted in a solid fusion in 21 of 23 (91%) patients. Overall, 18 of 23 (78%) patients had a satisfactory outcome to this fusion technique, which can be performed in any community-based hospital.