Background: Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) is an increasingly popular procedure with several potential advantages over traditional open TLIF.
Objective: The current study aimed to compare fusion rates of different graft materials used in MIS-TLIF, via meta-analysis of the published literature.
Methods: A Medline search was performed and a database was created including patient's type of graft, clinical outcome, fusion rate, fusion assessment modality, and duration of follow-up. Meta-analysis of the fusion rate was performed using StatsDirect software (StatsDirect Ltd, Cheshire, United Kingdom).
Results: A total of 1533 patients from 40 series were included. Fusion rates were high, ranging from 91.8% to 99%. The imaging modalities used to assess fusion were computed tomography scans (30%) and X-rays (70%). Comparison of all recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP) series with all non-rhBMP series showed fusion rates of 96.6% and 92.5%, respectively. The lowest fusion rate was seen with isolated use of autologous local bone (91.8%). The highest fusion rate was observed with combination of autologous local bone with bone extender and rhBMP (99.1%). The highest fusion rate without the use of BMP was seen with autologous local bone + bone extender (93.1%). The reported complication rate ranged from 0% to 35.71%. Clinical improvement was observed in all studies.
Conclusion: Fusion rates are generally high with MIS-TLIF regardless of the graft material used. Given the potential complications of iliac bone harvesting and rhBMP, use of other bone graft options for MIS-TLIF is reasonable. The highest fusion rate without the use of rhBMP was seen with autologous local bone plus bone extender (93.1%).
Keywords: Arthrodesis; Autologous local bone graft; Bone graft; Bone morphogenetic protein; Iliac crest bone graft; Lumbar spine arthrodesis.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.