Endoscopic Fixation of Bilateral L5 Spondylolysis Based on a New Technique: A Case Report

Abstract

We describe the use of an endoscopic approach to fix a pars interarticularis defect in a 33-year-old man with a 7-year history of refractory low back pain, whose case had been previously diagnosed as spondylolysis. The advantage of using this technique lies in minimum muscle trauma, since it only requires a single 6-mm transverse incision. Neither intraoperative nor postoperative complications were observed. The patient reported nocturnal pain improvement and presented favourable clinical recovery after 3.5 years of follow-up. He recorded an 8% Oswestry Disability Index and visual analogue scale scores of 2 and 0 for low back and lower-limb pain, respectively. Therefore, the endoscopic technique described herein is a feasible approach to treating spondylolysis.