Disc herniation in the thoracolumbar junction treated by minimally invasive transforaminal interbody fusion surgery.

Minimally invasive surgery-transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases. Use of this procedure for thoracolumbar junction disc herniation remains challenging. Reports concerning MIS-TLIF at the thoracolumbar junction are rare. Thus, we performed a retrospective analysis of the clinical outcomes of 10 patients with thoracolumbar junction disc herniation treated by MIS-TLIF between December 2007 and October 2010. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of MIS-TLIF for disc herniation in the thoracolumbar junction. Clinical and radiological data were collected and analyzed. Fusion levels included T12-L1 (two patients), L1-L2 (four patients) and L2-L3 (four patients). Clinical outcome was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The average follow-up period was 39.2 months, with a minimum of 24 months. The mean ± standard error of the mean of the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and x-ray exposure were 128 ± 36 minutes, 204 ± 35 mL, and 43 ± 12 seconds, respectively. The VAS for back and leg pain decreased significantly postoperatively from 6.4 ± 2.7 to 1.5 ± 0.6 (p<0.01), and from 7.1 ± 2.4 to 1.3 ± 0.4 (p<0.01) respectively, as did the ODI from 39.3 ± 11.2 to 16.5 ± 4.7 (p<0.01). Bone fusion was observed in eight patients. There were no other major complications at last follow-up. MIS-TIF is a safe and effective procedure for disc herniation in the thoracolumbar junction. Occurrence of non-union is relatively high compared to previous findings.