Background:

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion is an effective surgical treatment of intervertebral disk herniation. However, its clinical efficacy for adjacent segment disk degeneration (ASDD) after hybrid bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral cortical screw (pedicle screw at L4 and cortical bone trajectory screw at L5) and hybrid bilateral cortical screw – bilateral pedicle screw (bilateral cortical screw at L4 and bilateral pedicle screw at L5) remains undiscovered. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the hybrid bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral cortical screw and hybrid bilateral cortical screw – bilateral pedicle screw on the adjacent segment via a 3-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) analysis.

Methods:

Four human cadaveric lumbar spine specimens were provided by the anatomy teaching and research department of Xinjiang Medical University. Four finite element models of L1-S1 lumbar spine segment were generated. For each of these, four lumbar transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion models at L4-L5 segment with the following instruments were created: hybrid bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral cortical screw, bilateral cortical screw – bilateral cortical screw (bilateral cortical screw at both L4 and L5 segments), bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral pedicle screw (bilateral pedicle screw at both L4 and L5 segments), and hybrid bilateral cortical screw – bilateral pedicle screw. A 400-N compressive load with 7.5 Nm moments was applied for the simulation of flexion, extension, lateral bending, and rotation. The range of motion of L3-L4 and L5-S1 segments and von Mises stress of the intervertebral disc at the adjacent segment were compared.

Results:

Hybrid bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral cortical screw has the lowest range of motion at L3-L4 segment in flexion, extension, and lateral bending, and the highest disc stress in all motions, while the range of motion at L5-S1 segment and disc stress was lower than bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral pedicle screw in flexion, extension, and lateral bending, and higher than bilateral cortical screw – bilateral cortical screw in all motions. The range of motion of hybrid bilateral cortical screw – bilateral pedicle screw at L3-L4 segment was lower than bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral pedicle screw and higher than bilateral cortical screw – bilateral cortical screw in flexion, extension, and lateral bending, and the range of motion at L5-S1 segment was higher than bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral pedicle screw in flexion, lateral bending, and axial rotation. The disc stress at L3-L4 segment was lowest and more dispersed in all motions, and the disc stress at L5-S1 segment was higher than bilateral pedicle screw – bilateral pedicle screw in lateral bending and axial rotation, but more dispersed.

Conclusion:

Hybrid bilateral cortical screw – bilateral pedicle screw decreases the impact on adjacent segments after spinal fusion, reduces the iatrogenic injury to the paravertebral tissues, and provides throughout decompression of the lateral recess.