ALIF
The anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) is a technique for fusing the lumbar spine. It is used to treat degenerative spinal disorders, including lumbar stenosis, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, radiculopathy (leg pain), and back pain.
In an ALIF procedure, a short incision is made over the lower abdomen. A team of a general surgeon and a spine surgeon together dissect down to the front of the spine and the diseased intervertebral disc. The disc is removed, and an implant is inserted, usually consisting of metal and bone graft. The goal of the procedure is to promote a bony fusion between the two adjacent vertebrae. By increasing disc space height and correcting spinal alignment, an ALIF procedure can also decompress the nerves traveling to the legs. Sometimes screws are inserted through the back to provide additional fixation.
ALIF offers advantages over other fusion techniques in that a large graft can be inserted into the disc space, which increases the rate of fusion. It also involves less muscle dissection, which reduces post-operative pain.
Whether an ALIF is the right procedure for you depends on your symptoms, your spinal and blood vessel anatomy, and whether you have had previous procedures on your lumbar spine. We will discuss these considerations during your office visit.
An ALIF procedure involves dissecting down to the front of the lumbar spine and accessing a diseased spinal disc (left, yellow arrow). The diseased disc is removed (center, red shaded region) and replaced with an implant containing bone graft (right, gray box).
Images from a patient with a failed lumbar fusion by another surgeon (top left) that I treated with an ALIF.
