Surgical treatment of low grade lumbar spondylolisthesis

Background Data: Lumbar spondylolisthesis is a prevalent cause of lower back pain and is a focal interest of spinal surgery. A diverse set of decompression and fusion techniques are used in surgery. Purpose: To investigate the surgical and clinical outcomes patients with spondylolisthesis who received surgical intervention. Materials and Methods: Data of 25 patients (15 women; 10 men; mean age, 48.8 ± 12.4 years; range, 27–66 years) with low-grade spondylolisthesis who received surgical intervention were retrospectively analyzed. Posterolateral and posterior interbody fusion was used in 17 and 8 patients, respectively, and 19 received posterior pedicle screws and 6 received only fusion and decompression. Results: According to the Kirkaldy–Willis criteria, the clinical outcomes of 11 (44%), 9 (36%), 3 (12%), and 2 (8%) patients were rated excellent, good, fair, and poor, respectively, with a success rate of 80%. Furthermore, fusion was observed in 21 patients (84%). Favorable outcomes were achieved in 17 (90%) patients with pedicle screws and in 3 (50%) with only decompression and fusion (p=0.048; p<0.05). The rate of favorable outcome was 75% patients who smoked (p=0.226; p>0.05). Two out of three patients with revision surgery had poor clinical outcomes (p=0.091; p<0.05). Conclusion: Addition of pedicle screw fixation to posterolateral fusion increases fusion rates and yields satisfactory clinical results. Previous history of surgery is a risk factor that should be considered before deciding to perform surgery. Furthermore, the transpedicular screw fixation technique can be made less complicated and effective via an effective and experienced teamwork. Herein, we reviewed recent studies and discussed the indications, complications, and outcome of surgical treatment of low-grade spondylolisthesis.