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:
OperativeSurgical 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 that 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 rodsHartshill rectanglesinterbody spacers/cageslaminar hooksplates-
screwspedicle screwsfacet joint screwstranslaminar screws
vertebral body replacement deviceswires
Techniques
One or more of the above-mentioned components can be utilised to achieve fusion. Some of the more common procedures include:
- anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)
- corpectomy fusion
- lumbar interbody fusion 2
- lateral/eXtreme/direct lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF/XLIF/DLIF)
-</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 that 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 utilised to achieve fusion. Some of the more common procedures include:</p><ul>- +</ul><h4>Surgical 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 that confers long-term stability and that fusion solely with instrumentation will eventually fail <sup>1</sup>.</p><h5>Techniques</h5><p>One or more of the above-mentioned components can be utilised to achieve fusion. Some of the more common procedures include:</p><ul>
- +<li><a href="/articles/lateral-lumbar-interbody-fusion-llif">lateral/eXtreme/direct lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF/XLIF/DLIF)</a></li>
-<li><a href="/articles/lateral-lumbar-interbody-fusion-llif">lateral/eXtreme/direct lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF/XLIF/DLIF)</a></li>-<li><a title="Posterolateral lumbar fusion" href="/articles/posterolateral-lumbar-fusion">posterolateral lumbar fusion</a></li>- +<li><a href="/articles/posterolateral-lumbar-fusion">posterolateral lumbar fusion</a></li>