Journal List > J Korean Soc Spine Surg > v.17(3) > 1075905

Kim, Kim, Lim, Han, Kim, Park, and Suk: A Comparison of Clinical Stability of Distal Instrument Fused Down to S1 with and without Sub-S1 Alar Screw in the Long Fusion using Segmental Pedicle Screw for Lumbar Degenerative Deformity

Abstract

Study Design

This is a retrospective study.

Objectives

We wanted to assess the stability of distal instrumentation using the bilateral S1 and sacral alar screws for the treatment of degenerative lumbar deformity.

Summary of the Literature Review

Various instrumentation methods have been introduced for increasing the strength of lumbosacral fusion. However, there are not many clinical studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of a sub-S1 alar screw for treating degenerative lumbar deformity surgery.

Materials and Methods

A total of 39 patients with degenerative lumbar deformity were treated by long fusion and we retrospectively analyzed these patients after a minimum follow-up of 1 year. All the patients underwent an operation with distal instrumentation using either bilateral S1 screws alone (the S1 group) or additional bilateral sub-S1 sacral alar screws (the SA group). There were 19 patients in the S1 group and 20 patients in the SA group. The stability of the distal instrumentation was assessed by breakage or backout of a rod and/or screws based on simple radiography.

Results

Instability of the distal instrumentation was detected in 6 cases (32%) in the S1 group and in 1 case (5%) in the SA group. The SA group had a more stability of the distal instrumentation than that of the S1 group with a significant difference (P<0.05). Distal instrumentation was unstable in 6 (19%) of the 32 cases with an anterior metal cage through posterior interbody fusion at L5-S1 and in 1(14%) of 7 cases without it at L5-S1. There was no significant difference in the stability of distal instrumentation in each group according to whether or not their L5-S1 was treated with an interbody cage (P>0.05).

Conclusions

Bilateral sacral alar screws coupled with bilateral S1 screws can provide good distal fixation for stability of the distal instrumentation when performing long fusion for treating degenerative lumbar deformity.

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Fig. 1.
A 67 year-old female with degenerative lumbar scoliosis had a lumbar coronal deformity of 30°. (A, B) She was treated by pedicle screw fixation from T10 to S1 and sub-S1 alar screw. Posterior interbody fusion using metal cage was performed on L3-4 and L5-S1. Her deformity was corrected to 5° with distal instrumentation stable in the radiographs taken one and a half year after surgery. (C, D)
jkss-17-139f1.tif
Table 1.
Demographics and etiologic diagnosis
  S1 screw alone (n=19) Sacral alar screw (n=20)
Age (year) 64.3 (46~77) 63.7 (58~72)
Female/Male 16/3 18/2
Follow-up (month) 29.3 (12.1~65.7) 18 (12.0~28.1)
Diagnosis
  Degenerative lumbar scoliosis 4 6
  Sagittal imbalance 10 8
  DLS with sagittal imbalance 5 6
BMD (g/cm2) 0.96 (0.52~1.21) 1.03 (0.76~1.28)
Fusion segment 7.1 (5~9) 7.2 (5~9)
Table 2.
Coronal curve magnitude in degenerative lumbar scoliosis patients
Coronal Cobb angle S1 screw alone (n=9) Sacral alar screw (n=12)
Preoperative (°) 26.9 (16.0~48.5) 27.7 (15.5~47.0)
Immediate postoperative (°) 8.4 (1.0~21.5) 3.6 (1.5~6.5)
  Correction rate (%) 66.9 (22.2~96.9) 85.2 (68.8~96.4)
Final (°) 11.6 (4.5~23.0) 6.5 (3.0~10.0)
  Correction rate (%) 54.6 (14.8~84.4) 74.2 (56.3~89.3)
Table 3.
Sagittal balance magnitude in patients w with sagittal imbalance
Sagittal balance S1 screw alone (n=15) Sacral alar screw (n=14)
Preoperative (mm) 96.4 (50.5~164.0) 97.8 (56.0~170.5)
Immediate postoperative (mm) 62.5 (42.0~120.0) 53.6 (0.5~115.0)
  Correction rate (%) 35.2 (24.0~54.4) 39.0 (19.5~61.3)
Final (mm) 90.6 (43.5~165.5) 73.5 (15.5~145.0)
  Correction rate (%) 7.1 (-126.4~54.3) 20.6 (-50.7~80.8)
Table 4.
Stability of distal instrumentation between S1 screw alone fixation versus additional sacral alar screw fixation
Distal instrumentation S1 screw alone (n=19) Sacral alar screw (n=20)
Stable 13 19
Unstable 6 1
Table 5.
Stability of distal instrumentation according to diagnosis
Diganosis S1 screw alone (n=19) Sacral alar screw (n=20)
Stable Unstable Stable Unstable
Degenerative lumbar scoliosis 3 1 6 0
  Sagittal imbalance 6 4 7 1
DLS with sagittal imbalance 4 1 6 0
Table 6.
Stability of distal instrumentation according to posterior lumbar interbody fusion with metal cage in L5-S1
Distal instrumentation S1 screw alone (n=19) Sacral alar screw (n=20)
Cage No cage Cage No cage
Stable 13 0 13 6
Unstable 5 1 1 0
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