Résumé
STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective study OBJECTIVES: This study compared the clinical outcomes of posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) using hydroxyapatite blocks with PLIF using a metal or poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) cage. SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW: There are few reports on the clinical outcomes of PLIF using a hydroxyapatite block for treating lumbar degenerative disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 27 PLIF cases (62 units, HA block) that were followed up for 1-year were compared with 13 cases using a metal cage and 13 cases using a PEEK cage. Pedicle screw fixation was performed for all the cases. If the local bone is deficient, then an additional bone graft with autogeous iliac bone or bone substitute was used. The visual analog scale(VAS) for low back pain and radiating pain, the Oswestry disability index (ODI), the intervertebral height and the halo sign around the cages and pedicle screws were comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: The mean VAS score for low back pain before PLIF and using the HA block, the metal cage and the PEEK cage was 7.5, 8.3 and 6.2, respectively, and this was 3.3, 2.9 and 4.8 after PLIF (P0.05, One-way ANOVA). CONCLUSION: PLIF using a HA block showed improvements, including the back pain, and the ODI was satisfactory and this didn't fall below those ODIs of using metal or PEEK cages. Although a HA block may have higher tendency to break, there was no breakage at the 1-year follow up.