Authors: J S Thalgott A K Chin J A Ameriks F T Jordan M D Daubs J M Giuffre K Fritts M Timlin
Publish Date: 2014/04/30
Volume: 14, Issue: 6, Pages: 546-552
Abstract
Methods The BERG approach was attempted in 202 patients who required anterior lumbar interbody fusion ALIF Of those 168 were completed successfully without conversion to an open procedure The anterior retroperitoneal approach required no gas insufflation The gasless environment allowed for the use of standard anterior instrumentation and a variety of fusion grafts and devicesResults Mean hospital stay was 195 days with 73 of patients discharged in 47 h following surgery Clinical results from the first 50 patients with a minimum 2year followup include a 92 fusion rate and 78 of patients reporting significant pain relief of greater than 50Conclusions The BERG approach offers significant technical advantages over the standard gasmediated transperitoneal approach for ALIF The clinical results are similar to those reported for open approaches and the gasmediated transperitoneal approach
Keywords: