Vertebrae Coronal Fracture following Oblique lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Case Report

Objective: Oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) surgery has been increasingly proposed a preferred minimally invasive approach for lumbar degenerative pathology. We aimed to report cases with vertebrae coronal fracture (VCF) following OLIF combined with anterolateral single-rod screw fixation (OLIF-AF). Methods: A retrospective review was performed on all patients who underwent minimally invasive OLIF-AF surgery between October, 2017 and February, 2021. Patients with VCF were selected for further analysis. RESULTS: Two patients (0.37%) out of 534 total patients (707 levels) were identified with VCF following OLIF-AF. Both patients presented with severe back pain and radiating to bilateral legs within 10 days after surgery. Both patients were osteoporosis and had improper lumbar motion at early stage postoperative. Managed with conservative treatment, the VCF healed and successful interbody fusion were achieved in both patients. CONCLUSIONS: VCF following OLIF-AF surgery is a rare but anguished complication. The contributing factor may include osteoporosis, overweight and premature improper lumbar motion. Based on these fracture reports, we caution surgeons should repeatedly advise patients to limit lumbar movement at early stage postoperative, especially for osteoporosis patients.