Clinical Outcomes of Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion Combined with Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy During the Treatment of Low-grade Spondylolisthesis

Background Minimally invasive lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) in combination with percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) can achieve interbody fusion and direct decompression, but their combined use has not been widely reported. In this study, the clinical outcomes of LLIF in combination with PELD in low-grade spondylolisthesis was evaluated, particularly in cases of a requirement for direct decompression. Methods Patients with single-level low-grade spondylolisthesis, undergoing LLIF in combination with PELD were included. The severity of lower back and leg pain was reported using visual analog scale (VAS). The Oswestry disability index (ODI) was used to evaluate functional improvements of patients. A comparison of preoperative and postoperative indicators was performed through repeated measures of analysis of variance. P < 0.05 was considered as a statistically significant difference. Results A total of 48 patients (20 males and 28 females) were included. The intraoperative blood loss was 112.60ml ± 43.69 and the average operation time was 116.35min ± 22.31. VAS and ODI were significantly improved in all stages after operation. The fusion rate at the final follow-up was 93.7%. No injuries occurred to the vessels, nerves and organs during the perioperative period. Conclusions LLIF in combination with PELD achieved adequate decompression and intervertebral fusion, with precise and reliable clinical outcomes. In addition, the procedure was minimally invasive, resulting in small tissue injury and rapid postoperative recovery. Multi-center prospective comparative studies are now needed to further confirm the superiority of this combination.