Publication:

Evaluation of the safety, efficacy and technical advantages of spinal anesthesia in patients undergoing single lower lumbar level minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, as an alternative to general anesthesia: a prospective study

Background In spinal anesthesia, patients experience shorter OT, quicker recovery and ambulation, better post-operative analgesia and fewer complications than general anesthesia. Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) shows fewer complications and early ambulation than open TLIF. Our study aims to assess spinal anesthesia’s safety, efficacy and technical benefits in MIS-TLIF.

Methods Patients unresponsive to conservative treatment for 6-8 weeks underwent MIS TLIF for lower lumbar degenerative pathologies. The demographic data, OT entry to incision time, blood loss, bandaging to exit from OT time, post anesthesia care unit (PACU) time, post-op complications, requirement of analgesia, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores, hospital stay, fusion rates and satisfaction scores were noted and assessed.

Results The study included a total of 200 patients undergoing MIS-TLIF with mean age being 54.32±10.36 years; mean surgery time being 165.23±21.41 minutes; and mean blood loss being 123.56±65.14 ml. The mean OT entry to incision time was 28.91±9.63 minutes, while the mean bandaging to exit time was 7.43±4.12 minutes. The mean PACU stay was 41.35±5.78 minutes. The mean hospital stay was 3.28±1.23 days, with 97% patients showing solid radiographic fusion while 92.5% patients were fully satisfied with the surgery. VAS and ODI scores were significantly improved as compared to the pre operative status.

Conclusions Spinal anesthesia for lower lumbar MIS-TLIF is cost effective and safe alternative to general anesthesia with lesser post operative pain and other side effects; taking into consideration proper patient selection for the same.