Spinal fusion (overview)
Updates to Article Attributes
Spinal fusion is a broad term to denote the joining of two or more adjacent vertebral segments. Fusion can be congenital or acquired as a direct result of disease or deliberately following spinal surgery.
Congenital fusion
Fusion of two or more adjacent segments is encountered either as an isolated usually incidental finding or in a variety of conditions with multiple other defects.
Acquired fusion
Many disease processes can result in fusion of adjacent vertebrae including:
Operative fusion
Numerous procedures have been developed over the years to fuse spinal segments to treat a variety of conditions (e.g. spondylolisthesis, unstable spinal fractures, disc protrusions). It should be noted that it is osseous fusion than confers long-term stability and that fusion solely with instrumentation will eventually fail 1.
Hardware
A number of components are used to achieve fusion. These include 1:
- connecting rods
- Hartshill rectangles
- interbody spacers/cages
- laminar hooks
- plates
-
screws
- pedicle screws
- facet joint screws
- translaminar screws
- vertebral body replacement devices
- wires
Techniques
One or more of the above-mentioned components can be utilized to achieve fusion. Some of the more common procedures include:
-</ul><h4>Operative fusion</h4><p>Numerous procedures have been developed over the years to fuse spinal segments to treat a variety of conditions (e.g. <a href="/articles/spondylolisthesis-1">spondylolisthesis</a>, unstable <a href="/articles/spinal-fractures">spinal fractures</a>, <a href="/articles/disc-protrusion">disc protrusions</a>). Some of the more common procedures include: </p><ul>- +</ul><h4>Operative fusion</h4><p>Numerous procedures have been developed over the years to fuse spinal segments to treat a variety of conditions (e.g. <a href="/articles/spondylolisthesis-1">spondylolisthesis</a>, unstable <a href="/articles/spinal-fractures">spinal fractures</a>, <a href="/articles/disc-protrusion">disc protrusions</a>). It should be noted that it is osseous fusion than confers long-term stability and that fusion solely with instrumentation will eventually fail <sup>1</sup>.</p><h5>Hardware</h5><p>A number of components are used to achieve fusion. These include <sup>1</sup>: </p><ul>
- +<li>connecting rods</li>
- +<li>Hartshill rectangles</li>
- +<li>interbody spacers/cages</li>
- +<li>laminar hooks</li>
- +<li>plates</li>
- +<li>screws<ul>
- +<li>pedicle screws </li>
- +<li>facet joint screws</li>
- +<li>translaminar screws</li>
- +</ul>
- +</li>
- +<li>vertebral body replacement devices</li>
- +<li>wires</li>
- +</ul><h5>Techniques</h5><p>One or more of the above-mentioned components can be utilized to achieve fusion. Some of the more common procedures include: </p><ul>
-<li><a href="/articles/corpectomy-fusion">corpectomy fusion</a></li>- +<li><a title="Corpectomy" href="/articles/corpectomy">corpectomy fusion</a></li>
References changed:
- 1. Rutherford E, Tarplett L, Davies E, Harley J, King L. Lumbar Spine Fusion and Stabilization: Hardware, Techniques, and Imaging Appearances. Radiographics. 2007;27(6):1737-49. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1148/rg.276065205">doi:10.1148/rg.276065205</a> - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025515">Pubmed</a>
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.