Purpose:

to compare the outcomes of single position (SP) circumferential lumbar interbody fusion in lateral decubitus versus dual position (DP) fusion.

Methods:

A systematic literature review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus database to identify comparative studies reporting the outcomes of SP lumbar interbody fusion versus DP. For risk of bias assessment ROBINS-I (Risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions) tool was used.

Results:

Four comparative studies were included from an initial search of 3780 papers. All four studies were retrospective cohort studies comparing outcomes of single-position versus dual-position LLIF. A total of 349 patients were operated using a SP versus 254 DP. All the studies involved reported: operating time, estimated blood loss, length of stay, change in segmental lordosis and complications. From a general perspective, baseline variables were similar in both groups in all the studies and all reported a significant decrease in operative time and length of stays with SP.

Conclusion:

literature comparing single-position versus lateral then prone lumbar fusion shows a tendency towards shorter operating time and hospital stays in single position lumbar fusion, while maintaining similar perioperative outcomes.