Endoscopic Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Abstract

One of the most common surgical cures for lumbar degenerative illnesses is lumbar fusion. Traditional open lumbar fusion is often used in clinical settings and has positive clinical results. However, there are some disadvantages of the traditional open approach, such as tremendous surgical invasiveness and a high risk of complications in the perioperative period. The gold standard for minimally invasive surgical techniques in recent years has been minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). With the advancement of full-endoscopic spine surgical techniques, endoscopic lumbar surgery has rapidly developed from simple discectomy to decompression of spinal stenosis. Currently, the endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion procedure has been performed. On the basis of adequate spinal canal decompression and dependable interbody fusion, endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion could reduce surgical invasiveness and improve patient recovery. In this chapter, we will give a brief introduction to the advance in endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, focusing on the indication, technical aspects, clinical effectiveness, safety, fusion devices, and novel techniques that could be applied in the near future.