Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Lumbar zygapophysial joint is an important post-column structure, of which the fixation and fusion has been relatively widely used in the lumbar posterior surgery.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the advantages, disadvantages and efficacy of different fusion technologies of lumbar zygapophysial joint.
METHODS: PubMed and CNKI databases were searched for the literatures about lumbar zygapophysial joint fusion.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The traditional fusion method of zygapophycial joint is to make V slot and then to implant cancellous bone, which does not need wide dissection, so it has the advantage of small trauma, less plant and high fusion rate, while it has the defect of poorer immediate stability as well. The method of using zygapophysial joint screws can improve fusion rate of bone graft, but it has the complications of fusion failure, less obvious postoperative symptoms ease, screw loose and fracture, hard film rent and nerve damage caused by screw puncture to sedation. And the usage of oval fusion cage is beneficial to the full contact of fusion cage and joint surface, and then to improve the stability and shift resistance ability of the fusion cage. At present, the research of lumbar zygapophysial joint fusion is far less than that of the posterolateral fusion, so it is important to systematically study the biomechanics, clinical curative effects and complications much further.