Michael Putzier1, Tony Hartwig1, Eike Karl Hoff1, Florian Streitparth2, Patrick Strube3. 1. Klinik für Orthopädie, Centrum für Muskuloskeletale Chirurgie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. 2. Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. 3. Klinik für Orthopädie der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Waldkrankenhaus "Rudolf Elle" gGmbH Eisenberg, Klosterlausnitzer Strasse 81, 06706 Eisenberg, Germany. Electronic address: Patrick.Strube@uni-jena.de.
Abstract
BACKGROUND CONTEXT: An overload of the paravertebral muscles after surgical intervention is suggested to be the major cause of postoperative pain. In cross-sectional area analyses, increased atrophy of the multifidus muscle (MF) after conventional open versus minimally invasive posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) has been described. The three-dimensional characteristics of the paravertebral muscles and separate evaluation of the longissimus muscle (LS) have not been addressed in analyses thus far. PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to compare the MF and LS volume atrophy and fatty degeneration between single-level minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (miTLIF) and conventional midline approach-based PLIF (coPLIF) of L4/L5 or L5/S1 at the index and superior adjacent segments. DESIGN: This was a prospective, randomized, controlled, non-blinded study. PATIENT SAMPLE: Fifty patients with single-level segment degeneration (Pfirrmann ≥III and Modic ≥3) of L4/L5 or L5/S1 not requiring decompression were randomly assigned to two groups. OUTCOME MEASURES: Paraspinal lumbar residual muscle tissue volume, change in the relative fat content of MF and LS at the index and superior adjacent segments, and clinical parameters, including a visual analogue scale (VAS) for low back pain and the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODI) were the outcome measures in this study. METHODS: Twenty-five patients were treated with miTLIF, and the remaining patients were treated with coPLIF (both with transpedicular fixation). Clinical scoring was performed preoperatively and at 1 week and 12 months postoperatively, and computed tomography was performed at the latter two follow-ups. RESULTS: The LS damage at the index segment was similar in both groups (3% greater fat content increase in the coPLIF vs. the miTLIF group, p=.032), whereas MF atrophy and degeneration were increased (p<.001) in the coPLIF group. At the adjacent segment, muscle atrophy and increased fatty infiltration (p<.05) were minimal in both muscles but were similar in both groups. Visual analogue scale and ODI scores improved (p<.001), without differences between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The muscle damage after miTLIF was inferior to that after coPLIF; spatially, however, the muscle sparing was predominantly attributed to the MF and, surprisingly, not to the LS.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND CONTEXT: An overload of the paravertebral muscles after surgical intervention is suggested to be the major cause of postoperative pain. In cross-sectional area analyses, increased atrophy of the multifidus muscle (MF) after conventional open versus minimally invasive posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) has been described. The three-dimensional characteristics of the paravertebral muscles and separate evaluation of the longissimus muscle (LS) have not been addressed in analyses thus far. PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to compare the MF and LS volume atrophy and fatty degeneration between single-level minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (miTLIF) and conventional midline approach-based PLIF (coPLIF) of L4/L5 or L5/S1 at the index and superior adjacent segments. DESIGN: This was a prospective, randomized, controlled, non-blinded study. PATIENT SAMPLE: Fifty patients with single-level segment degeneration (Pfirrmann ≥III and Modic ≥3) of L4/L5 or L5/S1 not requiring decompression were randomly assigned to two groups. OUTCOME MEASURES: Paraspinal lumbar residual muscle tissue volume, change in the relative fat content of MF and LS at the index and superior adjacent segments, and clinical parameters, including a visual analogue scale (VAS) for low back pain and the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODI) were the outcome measures in this study. METHODS: Twenty-five patients were treated with miTLIF, and the remaining patients were treated with coPLIF (both with transpedicular fixation). Clinical scoring was performed preoperatively and at 1 week and 12 months postoperatively, and computed tomography was performed at the latter two follow-ups. RESULTS: The LS damage at the index segment was similar in both groups (3% greater fat content increase in the coPLIF vs. the miTLIF group, p=.032), whereas MF atrophy and degeneration were increased (p<.001) in the coPLIF group. At the adjacent segment, muscle atrophy and increased fatty infiltration (p<.05) were minimal in both muscles but were similar in both groups. Visual analogue scale and ODI scores improved (p<.001), without differences between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The muscle damage after miTLIF was inferior to that after coPLIF; spatially, however, the muscle sparing was predominantly attributed to the MF and, surprisingly, not to the LS.
Authors: Vadim A Byvaltsev; Andrei A Kalinin; Morgan B Giers; Valerii V Shepelev; Yurii Ya Pestryakov; Mikhail Yu Biryuchkov Journal: Diagnostics (Basel) Date: 2021-05-19