Scientific publications
Lumbosacral arthrodesis with louis technique. Review of 186 cases
Beguiristáin J.L., Martínez Peric R., Barrios R.H., Villas C.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Clinic, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
A retrospective study was carried out of 186 patients surgically treated by lumbosacral arthrodesis using Louis plates from 1981 to 1989 with an average follow-up of 7.2 years (range 3-11). The average age of the patients was 42.2 years (range 11-71).
The indication for surgery was a herniated disc and segmentary instability in 29% (54 patients), spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis in 26.3% (49 patients), arthrosis in 11.3% (21 patients), instability (narrowing of the disc space and zygapophyseal hypertrophy) and stenosis in 5.9% (11 patients), tumour in 5.4% (10 patients), fractures in 0.5% (1 patient) and combinations of the above in 21.5% (40 patients who mainly had a herniated disc and associated spinal stenosis). Iliac crest autograft was used in 33 cases (17.7%), bank allograft in 5 (2.6%), and in the other 148 patients the graft was obtained from the arthrodesis bed. After follow-up we observed loosening of the screws in 20 patients and screw rupture in 10. We only documented 2 cases of pseudarthrosis using dynamic X-radiography.
We conclude that the Louis plate is a simple method that leads to lumbosacral arthrodesis with a low rate of pseudoarthrosis.
CITATION Eur Spine J. 1994;3(3):169-71