Soft stabilization with an artificial intervertebral ligament in grade I XXXX : comparison with instrumented posterior lumbar interbody fusion.

@entity1 @entity1643 @entity190 @entity179 @entity158 @entity717
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of soft stabilization with an artificial intervertebral ligament after microdecompression for the treatment of grade I @entity179 . METHODS: From a total of 54 @entity1 with @entity179 who were treated surgically from May 2000 to April 2003, 36 @entity1 who showed grade I spondylolisthesis without evidence of concomitant disc herniation necessitating discectomy were enrolled in the study. After decompression, the @entity1 had undergone either soft stabilization with an artificial intervertebral ligament (n = 17) or instrumented posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF; n = 19). RESULTS: The average follow-up period was 24 months for the PLIF group and 16 months for the soft stabilization group. In the PLIF group, preoperative mean scores of 60% on the @entity717 Index, 8.8 on the visual analog scale (VAS) for @entity1643 , and 9.3 on the VAS for leg @entity158 improved to 28%, 4.1, and 2.6, respectively, after surgery. Corresponding scores in the soft stabilization group were 55%, 8.4, and 8.9, improving to 25%, 4.1, and 2.2 after surgery. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in any of these clinical parameters. @entity1 ' subjective improvement rates and satisfaction with the surgical procedure were higher in the soft stabilization group, but the differences were not significant. Mean operation time and mean @entity190 were significantly lower in the soft stabilization group than in the PLIF group. In the soft stabilization group, there were 3 cases of progression of slippage in @entity1 who had had preoperative slippage of more than 20%; there was 1 dural tear in the PLIF group. CONCLUSIONS: @entity1 with grade I @entity179 who received soft stabilization with an artificial intervertebral ligament after microdecompression had clinical outcomes similar to those of @entity1 who received PLIF. Since soft stabilization can be done in a much less invasive way than fusion, if slippage is 20% or less, soft stabilization with an artificial ligament is a viable alternative to fusion for @entity1 who are elderly or who have significant comorbidities that make a prolonged operation inadvisable. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: This study was a retrospective comparative study with a very limited population (level III evidence).
