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Object The purpose of this study was to analyze the surgical outcomes in cases involving elderly patients who underwent single-level instrumented mini-open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Methods The authors performed a retrospective review of 27 consecutive cases involving elderly patients (≥ 65 years of age) who underwent single-level instrumented mini-open TLIF and were followed up for at least 3 years. Degenerative spondylolisthesis was diagnosed in 16 patients, stenosis with instability in 8, and lytic spondylolisthesis in 3. All cases were Grade I or II based on the American Society of Anesthesiologists' classification system. Clinical outcomes were assessed using a visual analog scale, the Oswestry Disability Index, and patients' subjective satisfaction. Sagittal balance, bone union, and adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) were assessed using plain radiography and 3D CT. Results The mean age of patients at the time of surgery was 69.3 years (range 65–80 years). Minor complications occurred in 2 patients (7.4%) in the perioperative period. At a mean follow-up duration of 38.6 months (range 36–42 months), clinical success was achieved in 88.9% of cases. The mean segmental lordosis and sacral tilt significantly increased after surgery (from 11.9 and 33.5° to 13.9 and 37.2°, p = 0.024 and p = 0.001, respectively). Solid fusion was achieved in 77.8% of the patients. Adjacent segment deterioration was found in 44.4% of the patients. No patients underwent revision surgery due to nonunion or ASD. The development of ASD was significantly related to postoperative sacral tilt (p = 0.006). Conclusions Single-level instrumented mini-open TLIF yielded good clinical and radiological outcomes with a low complication rate in elderly patients.

The authors describe a less invasive approach for a disc herniation at the high cervical region. A 68-year-old female patient presented with posterior neck and shoulder pain, and tingling sensation and numbness in the left hand after she fell down stairs 2 months before presentation. On neurologic examination, the power of flexion and extension of the left elbow and grasping of the left hand was decreased. Hoffmann sign was positive in both hands. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a huge herniation of the C2-C3 disc compressing the left paramedian area of the spinal cord. After a routine surgical exposure for discectomy of the C3-C4 disc, a drill hole of about 5 mm diameter was made at the middle of the C3 vertebral body. The hole was extended cranioposteriorly to the superoposterior border of the C3 endplate. The posterior disc at the midline of the C2-C3 was removed first then the herniated disc completely removed. Postoperatively, the patient showed improvement of the neck and shoulder pain and numbness of the hand. At 7-month follow-up, she completely recovered from her neurologic symptoms. Compared with the other approaches to high cervical lesion, the current approach was straightforward and less invasive. If there is no need to stabilize the spinal motion segment, this transcorporeal approach can be a useful surgical option as it decreases the extent of tissue dissection of the submandibular retropharyngeal area that might increase the risk of neurovascular injury.

The established watertight closure of the dural defect using the triple layer sealing method without lumbar drainage was more effective and safe.

A 72-year-old man presented with an extremely rare case of symptomatic isolated lumbosacral interdural arachnoid cyst manifesting as pain and weakness in the right buttock and lower extremity that had aggravated for 2 weeks. Although the surgical strategy for the interdural cyst was not complicated, the origination of the cyst was not clearly understood. Surgery found an isolated membrane of the cyst inside double-layered dura without communication with the intact arachnoid membrane. Cerebrospinal fluid with hemorrhage accumulated within the interdural cyst indicated recent bleeding into the cyst. Our experience suggests that this cyst was congenital based on the surgical results and imaging studies.