Translaminar facetal screw (Magerl's) fixation.
Translaminar facet screw fixation (TLFS) achieves stabilization of the vertebral motion segment by screws inserted at the base of the spinous process, through the opposite lamina, traversing the facet joint, and ending in the base of the transverse process. It is simple, does not require any specialized equipment, and has the advantages of being a procedure of lesser magnitude, lesser operative time, less cost and few complication rate. Recently there is growing interest in this technique to augment the anterior lumbar fusions to achieve global fusion less invasively. In this review article, we discuss the clinical and biomechanical considerations, surgical technique, indications, contraindications and recent developments of TLFS fixation in lumbar spine fusion.
Department of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore 641 009, India. rajaorth@eth.net
S
S
Rajasekaran
J
J
Naresh-Babu
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001863:Bone Screws; D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome