Background
Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) using a stand-alone interbody cage has been actively performed since the beginning of the 1990s [
1,
2]. However, when examining the research that has been performed to date, the results showed that ALIF has provided less than desirable stability in unstable spinal segments [
3]. Presently, it is common to clinically perform an additional posterior fixation to recover the stability of spinal segments, as well as to enhance the fusion. If sufficient stability can be provided in a single surgery, the problems that can arise from extensive anterior and posterior approaches can be reduced [
4]. This single surgical procedure could reduce the postoperative pain and number of days of hospitalization, and could lead to a quick return to one’s daily routine. Recently, a stand-alone interbody cage (SynFix-LR®; Synthes Gmbh, Oberdorf, Switzerland) with reinforced fixation from forward screws and a metal plate has been introduced; however, there is insufficient systematic biomechanical research to confirm the stability of an interbody fusion and increased fusion. SynFix-LR® consists of a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) body with an additional connected metal plate and a diverging locking metal screw; this design is meant to provide strong support and fixation to an unstable spine so that an additional posterior fusion would not be required.
Using finite element model (FEM) analysis, this study analyzed the range of motion (ROM) and facet joint load of the operated and adjacent segments, as well as changes in the anterior and posterior load in a normal model and in anterior lumbar interbody fixation performed using various methods. Through this analysis, the biomechanical effects of an ALIF for the stand-alone interbody cage were revealed.
Discussion
Lumbar interbody fusion has an exceptionally high fusion rate, and correction and restoration of the spine is relatively simple compared to that in posterolateral fusion [
19,
20]. An ALIF with a cage is widely used to maintain the height of the intervertebral discs and to restore the stability of the spinal segments. Generally, posterior pedicle screw fixation is used in parallel to heighten the stability of the operated segment and fusion rate in ALIF [
21]. However, there are several potential issues, including biomechanical changes from the anterior-posterior fusion, surgical risks and complications, increased cost of the surgery, and increased operative time due to the fixation of an additional PSF [
1,
22]. Additional posterior fixation after cage implantation provided superior biomechanical stability but increased the risk of neurological damage or damage to the muscle and ligament surrounding the spine from the additional posterior surgery. Therefore, questions have been raised as to whether this anterior-posterior fixation achieves better clinical results [
4]. In the case of anterior fusion using stand-alone interbody cage, in several studies it has shown stability and resistance to flexion or lateral bending but was vulnerable to applied extension or axial rotation [
4]. To overcome these problems, there have been studies in which an anterolateral plate is attached to the cage [
23] or screws are cross-fixed between the femoral ring allograft and cancellous bone [
24]. When the results of research using anterolateral or lateral metal plates and screws after cage implantation were examined, a vastly improved stability was noted. In a study using cadavers that compared implanting a femoral ring allograft between the vertebral body to cross-fixing screws attached to the femoral ring allograft to the upper and lower vertebral body, the experimental group with the screws holding the femoral ring had increased stiffness under all given loads compared to that in the group with only the femoral ring allograft during extension (52.9% vs. 16.9%) and axial rotation (40.2% vs. 18.3%) [
24]. Using additional anterior fixation of the anterior cage, these studies were able to heighten the stability by supplementing the vulnerability regarding extension from the removal of the anterior longitudinal ligament, which had been the most vulnerable area of the stand-alone cage. In another study using cadaver segments between L5 and S1, a model using the anterior cage fixed with 3 screws and a triangular shaped metal plate, and a model using posterior fixation with pedicle screws were compared. Both models showed similar limitations in movement and stiffness in the operated segment. However, the anterior plate fixation model exhibited vulnerable stability to lateral bending compared to that exhibited by the model with the pedicle screws; this difference in the experimental results was presumed to arise from the difference in the number of fixed points [
1]. In our study, the SynFix-LR® (in which the anterior fixation provided superior stability compared to that provided by just using the vertebral interbody cage [SynCage-LR®]), had a similar stiffness in the operated segment compared to that in the model with the pedicle screws, and a difference in limitation in ROM of less than 10%. When other research results regarding SynFix-LR® were examined, it was found that the SynFix-LR® had better stability in lateral bending, extension, and axial rotation when compared to those for a semicircle wedge-shaped stand-alone cage equipped with screws facing the center of the vertebral body (STALIF; Surgicraft Ltd, Redditch, UK). These differences in the results are presumed to be due to the variation in the direction of the screws (divergence vs. convergence), the characteristics of the screws (locking screw), and the cage shape [
25]. Cain et al. [
26] used a cadaver to study the biomechanics of SynFix-LR® similar to the experimental method used by the authors in this study. When comparing the results of the experimental group with the SynFix-LR® and additional PSF after cage implant, there were no significant differences when flexion, lateral bending, or extension were applied. However, SynFix-LR® was reported to exhibit a narrower elastic zone and stronger stiffness in the axial rotation. This is probably due to the convex cage body and strong adhesion with the vertebral body through the anterior fixation screws and metal plates with the 4 fixation points. This supplemented the stability during extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending, which had been a vulnerability of fixation procedures using stand-alone cages and anterior plates.
Degeneration of adjacent segments after fusion is a potential long-term complication. Limitation in motion occurs in the lumbar fusion region as a compensatory mechanism, and excessive movement occurs in the segments above and below the fusion region. Results from many studies showed that PSF increased the degeneration of the adjacent segments [
27,
28]. In posterior lumbar fusion, when the pedicle screws were removed after fusion, the movement of the adjacent segments for flexion, extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending increased relatively less than when the pedicle screws were retained, and the stress of the intervertebral disc of the adjacent segments also decreased more than 50%. When the pedicle screws were retained, a marked increase in the movement of the segments above the operated area was observed when flexion was applied [
28]. This study confirmed that there were changes in the anterior-posterior load-sharing of the lumbar vertebrae after fusion [
29,
30]. When PSF was performed, the load was focused more posteriorly compared with a normal lumbar segment, and to compensate, the burden on the facet joints of the adjacent areas increased. On the other hand, the stand-alone cage model had a similar load sharing distribution to a normal lumbar segment, and had relatively less motion in the adjacent segments compared to that for the PSF. This was considered result from the stand-alone cage with the reinforced anterior fixation moving the load that had been applied to the posterior of the spine to the anterior, which relieved the heavy load that had been applied to the facet joints of the adjacent segments.
The SynFix-LR® showed an approximate decrease of 15% in applied stress to the lower endplate compared to that using only the SynCage-LR® while in flexion. However, when extension was applied, the additional PSF model received half the PVMS of the stand-alone cage. When pedicle screws were used, the stress on the vertebral body moved anteriorly, while when only the SynCage-LR® was used, the stress was focused on the posterior part of the vertebral body. Through anterior fixation, the stand-alone cage can reduce the stress focused on the posterior of the vertebral body, as well as disperse the stress from surrounding vertebral body at the same time.
The limitation of this study is that the material properties of this simulation, such as the non-linear behavior of the spinal ligaments, the viscoelasticity of the disc, and the grade of degenerative disc, were simplified and idealized based on the properties of a cadaver specimen. This is due to the differences in the geometry and material properties, where the intervertebral discs within the human body are extremely flexible structures; however, the finite element simulated the intervertebral disc as a solid element. Thus, the non-linear characteristics were difficult to reenact. In addition, the state of the bone, which is an important factor to consider in fusion procedures, was not considered. Finite element research is similar to studies that are conducted in vitro, and as such, muscle contraction around the spine could not be considered.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors’ contributions
Ryu KS, Lee SH, Park CK provided advice on the study design. Choi KC carried out the whole studies, participated in the sequence alignment and wrote the article. And Choi KC was responsible for the data acquisition/analysis, interpretation. Lee SH provided advice on the data analysis. Ryu KS, Lee SH, Park CK contributed to the content of the article. Kim YH, Lee SJ involved in surgical treatment. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.