Safety and the anatomy of the retroperitoneal lateral corridor with respect to the minimally invasive lateral lumbar intervertebral fusion approach.
Safe and reproducible outcomes of the lateral lumbar intervertebral fusion (LLIF) procedure rely on meticulous care and understanding of the anatomy of the lateral corridor. This review aims to describe the different important anatomic considerations when performing LLIF and offer technical notes that may help increase the safety of this procedure. The LLIF procedure is divided into 5 stages: patient positioning, abdominal wall dissection, retroperitoneal space dissection, deployment of the surgical retractors, and diskectomy. Each stage is preformed in a distinct anatomic compartment that may cause different typical complications.
Spine Surgery Unit, Departments of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Gilad J
GJ
Regev
Spine Institute of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA; Center for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Alvarado Hospital and Pomerado Hospital, Palomar Health, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: Choll@siosd.com.
Choll W
CW
Kim
D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000601:surgery*; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000601:surgery*
LLIF; Retroperitoneal anatomy; Transpsoas approach