Analysis of safety and efficacy of oblique lateral interbody fusion in the treatment of lumbar endplate inflammation

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the clinical efficacy, safety, and related complications of oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) in the treatment of lumbar endplate inflammation. Methods: From June 2018 to August 2021, 36 patients with lumbar endplate inflammation underwent OLIF. There were 20 females and 16 males. Five patients had hypertension and three patients had diabetes. The complications were evaluated and treated before surgery. Patients’ medical histories were collected, and the pain visual analogue scale score (VAS) and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) pain score before and after surgery were measured. Operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, postoperative imaging by X-ray and CT, and patient satisfaction were analyzed statistically. Results: All patients completed surgery successfully. Low back pain and leg pain were relieved significantly after surgery and there were no serious complications. During the last follow-up, bony fusion was achieved in all segments, including 34 cases of grade I fusion and 2 cases of grade II fusion. The VAS and JOA scores for low back pain and leg pain were improved significantly after surgery (P < 0.05). Thirty-three patients were satisfied with the surgical outcome and three patients was basically satisfied, so the satisfaction rate was 100.00%. Conclusion: OLIF is effective in the treatment of lumbar endplate inflammation. It has the advantages of being minimally invasive, less intraoperative bleeding, less trauma, rapid postoperative recovery, high bone fusion rate and fewer complications. It has obvious advantages in the clinical treatment of lumbar endplate inflammation and is worthy of clinical promotion.