Comparison of long-term results of three posterior fusion methods for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis

Objective To compare the long-term results of 3 different posterior fusion methods in the treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.Methods The retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 62 patients who were treated with different posterior fusion methods for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.The patients were divided into 3 groups according to different fusion methods: Group A,posterolateral lumbar fusion;Group B,posterior lumbar interbody fusion with autologous ilium;Group C,posterior lumbar interbody fusion with Cage.These patients were followed up for 5 ～ 9 years.The clinical and radiological results were evaluated through questionnaire and radiology examination.Results There were no significant differences among the Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA) scores recovery rates,excellent and good rates,fusion rates of the 3 groups(P 0.05).Reduction rates of the 3 groups lost(1.61 ± 1.09) %,(0.88 ± 1.45) % and(0.06 ± 0.12) %,respectively.Intervertebral height lost(2.00 ± 0.77) mm,(0.39 ± 0.35) mm and(0.03 ± 0.18) mm,respectively.Intervertebral angles lost 2.78° ± 1.26°,1.39° ± 0.76° and 0.75° ± 0.61°,respectively.There were statistical differences among the loss of reduction rate,intervertebral height and angle of the 3 groups(P 0.05).The loss of Group C was the least.Conclusion The 3 posterior fusion methods can achieve good clinical outcome of long term follow-up in treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.Posterior lumbar interbody fusion with Cage has a better radiographic improvement.