What are the Different Spinal Fusion Techniques Used In Connecticut to Treat Injured Workers and Accident Victims?

The spinal fusion technique and procedure your surgeon chooses depends on the level of the spine being operated on and the location of the nerve root impingement.  The most common spinal areas that we see fused in Connecticut personal injury law, are cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) fusions.

Fusions are done either on the anterior (our surgeon will approach your spine from the lower abdomen for a lumbar fusion or front of the neck for a cervical fusion), posterior (your surgeon will approach from the back), or both sides of the spine (lateral approach).

Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in the use of spinal instrumentation systems that use hardware such as pedicle screws, plates, rods, wires, hooks, and cages of different materials. That is because these techniques have higher union rates than non-instrumented fusions, which means your bones are more likely to fuse together when healed.

The most common fusion procedures for the cervical spine are:

• Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF)
• Posterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion
• Anterior Cervical Corpectomy (part of the vertebral body is removed) and Fusion

The most common fusion procedures for the lumbar spine are:

• Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF)
• Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF)
• Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF)
• Transpsoas Interbody Fusion
• Oblique Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion
• Posterolateral Fusion

The most common fusion procedures for the thoracic spine are:

• Anterior Decompression and Fusion
• Posterior Instrumentation and Fusion

Make sure you discuss the specifics of each of these spinal fusion procedures once you know what type is recommended.