Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Jul-Aug;6(4):435-43.
doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2005.08.012.

Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF): a novel surgical technique for anterior lumbar interbody fusion

Burak M Ozgur  1 , Henry E Aryan, Luiz Pimenta, William R Taylor
Affiliations

Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF): a novel surgical technique for anterior lumbar interbody fusion

Burak M Ozgur et al. Spine J. 2006 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background: Minimally disruptive approaches to the anterior lumbar spine continue to evolve in a quest to reduce approach-related morbidity. A lateral retroperitoneal, trans-psoas approach to the anterior disc space allows for complete discectomy, distraction, and interbody fusion without the need for an approach surgeon.

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of a minimally disruptive lateral retroperitoneal approach and the advantages to patient recovery.

Methods/results: The extreme lateral approach (Extreme Lateral Interbody Fusion [XLIF]) is described in a step-wise manner. There have been no complications thus far in the author's first 13 patients.

Conclusions: The XLIF approach allows for anterior access to the disc space without an approach surgeon or the complications of an anterior intra-abdominal procedure. Longer-term follow-up and data analysis are under way, but initial findings are encouraging.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources