TITLE:
Posterior Lumbar Interbody Arthrodesis (PLIA) Using a Bone Graft
AUTHORS:
Lamine Sarr, Souleymane Diao, Khalifa Faye, Badara Dembélé, Mouhamed Daffé, Alioune Badara Diouf, Charles Kinkpé, Charles Diémé
KEYWORDS:
Lumbar Spine, Arthrodesis, Interbody Fusion, Disc Disease
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Orthopedics,
Vol.15 No.11,
November
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: Lumbar arthrodesis is a common procedure. The method using an intersomatic graft via the posterior approach was described by Cloward [1] and popularized by Lerat [2] [3]. The current advent of intersomatic cases has caused this type of arthrodesis to decline. We operated on a series of patients who correspond to our beginnings for this type of surgery. The objective of our study is to assess the contribution of ALIP to the management of hyperalgic lumbar discopathies. The average age of our patients is 46 years. There were 4 men and 6 women. The pain presented as lumbar-radiculalgia in 7 patients. The arthrodesis was performed on the basis of hyperalgic discopathy. It concerned the L4-L5 disc in 7 cases, T12-L1 in 1 case and L5-S1 in one case. This discopathy was secondary to isthmic lysis in 05 cases, to a vicious L1 malunion in 01 case and was of degenerative origin in 04 cases. The average time of evolution was 16.5 months with extremes of 3 months and 48 months. All patients were operated under general anesthesia with orotracheal intubation. The approach was posterior for all our patients. The bone graft came from the posterior crest in 9 patients. All patients underwent arthrodesis at one level. It was done in L4-L5 in 70% of cases. A transpedicular osteotomy was performed for one patient. Posterior fixation was done using titanium screws and rods for all patients. The lumbar and radicular VAS, the Beaujon functional score and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) disability scale were globally improved for all patients. On the subjective level, 8 of the 9 patients evaluated were satisfied with the procedure despite complications such as dural breach, infection, radicular paralysis and junctional syndrome. ALIP allows for a high rate of interbody fusion and indolence.