title: A biomechanical comparison of 3 different posterior fixation techniques for 2-level lumbar spinal disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to make a biomechanical comparison of 3 different posterior fixation techniques for 2-level lumbar spinal disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight fresh-frozen human cadaver lumbar spines (4 from L-1 to L-5, 4 from L-1 to S-1) were tested by applying pure moments of ± 8 Nm. Each specimen was first tested intact, and then the left facetectomies of L3-4 and L4-5 were performed to establish an unstable condition without removal of discs. Three instrumentation systems were then tested randomly: unilateral pedicle screw (UPS), UPS with contralateral translaminar facet screw (UPSFS), and bilateral pedicle screw (BPS). The range of motion (ROM) and the neutral zone (NZ) of L3-5 were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All fixation types could reduce the ROM of L3-5 significantly in flexion, extension, and lateral bending, compared with the intact state. In axial torsion, only BPS reduced the ROM significantly, compared with the intact state. The UPSFS technique provided intermediate stability, which was superior to the UPS in flexion-extension and lateral bending, and inferior to the BPS in lateral bending. Compared with the intact state, the NZs decreased significantly for UPS, UPSFS, and BPS in flexion-extension, while not significantly in lateral bending and axial torsion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, among the 3 fixation techniques, BPS offered the highest stability, UPSFS provided intermediate stability, and UPS was the least stable for 2-level lumbar spinal disorders. UPSFS appeared to be able to offer a less invasive choice than BPS in well-selected patients with 2-level lumbar spinal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Fubing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Zhenzhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Tianze
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Qinming
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Production and Life Quality Program, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yuanchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Xiaoxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University; and.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009984:Orthopedic Fixation Devices; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: 2-level; BPS = bilateral pedicle screw; NZ = neutral zone; ROM = range of motion; TLFS = translaminar facet screw; UPS = unilateral pedicle screw; UPSFS = UPS with contralateral translaminar facet screw; biomechanical; fixation; lumbar spinal disorders; posterior