Long term results of Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF) with Interbody Fusion Cages.

In case of symptomatic degenerative disc disease, spondylolistheses or
spondylolysis recalcitrant to non-operative treatment modalities (e.g. physical
therapy, bed rest, anti-inflammatory medications), anterior lumbar interbody
fusion (ALIF) is considered to be an effective treatment option. Surprisingly,
however, only few studies have been published presenting data on the clinical
value of stand-alone ALIF cages. Mid-term results of a cohort of patients
surgically treated with an anterior, stand-alone carbon fiber Brantigan ALIF
I/F cage between 1993 and 2002 in Medical Centre Alkmaar were already evaluated
in 2004. As scientific evidence concerning the long term clinical result of
ALIF is lacking, the goal of the current study is to determine the long term
clinical outcome and radiographic fusion in this cohort of patients.

What are the long term (follow-up more than 10 years) clinical and radiological
results of ALIF with Brantigan ALIF I/F cages?

Observational cross-sectional study

Included patients will visit the Medical Centre Alkmaar to undergo additional
physical and radiological examination. They will have to fill in a
questionnaire, which will take maximally 10 minutes. The time and radiation
burden for the subjects are small, and in proportion to the potential value of
the research, as no long term results of this surgical procedure are presently
known. All patients included in this study will undergo radiographic
assessment, which means four radiographs will be performed that the patient
otherwise would not have undergone. The mean radiation exposure during one
radiograph of the spine is 1,50 mSv (milliSievert). Thus, each patient is
exposed to 6,00 mSv. For comparison: yearly background radiation exposure in
the Netherlands is around 2 mSv per year.