Hybrid surgery with PEEK rods for lumbar degenerative diseases: a 2-year follow-up study

Abstract

Background Finite element analyses and biomechanical tests have shown that PEEK rods promote fusion and prevent adjacent segment degeneration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects and complications of hybrid surgery with PEEK rods in lumbar degenerative diseases. Methods From January 2015-December 2017, 28 patients who underwent lumbar posterior hybrid surgery with PEEK rods were included in the study. The patients were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis, or degenerative grade I spondylolisthesis. Before the operation and at the last follow-up, the patients completed lumbar anteroposterior and lateral X-ray, dynamic X-ray, MRI examinations. In addition, at the last follow-up the patients also completed lumbar CT examinations. The radiographic parameters, clinical visual analog scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) score were compared. Results The average age of the patients was 44.8 ± 12.6 years, and the average follow-up duration was 26.4 ± 3.6 months. The VAS score improved from 6.3 ± 1.6 to 1.0 ± 0.9, and the ODI score decreased from 38.4 ± 10.8 to 6.8 ± 4.6. The fusion rate of the fused segment was 100%. There were no significant changes in the modified Pfirrmann classifications or disc height index for the nonfused segments and the upper adjacent segments from pre- to postoperatively. No cases of screw loosening, broken screws, broken rods or other mechanical complications were found. Conclusion Hybrid surgery with PEEK rods for lumbar degenerative diseases can yield good clinical results and effectively reduce the incidence of complications such as adjacent segment diseases.

Polyetheretherketone development in bone tissue engineering and orthopedic surgery

“…Zhao et al (Zhao et al, 2022) included 28 patients treated with lumbar posterior hybrid surgery using PEEK rods in a 2-year study and reported that the fusion rate was 100%, and the pain and function were significantly improved. Mechanical complications such as rod breakage or screw loosening did not occur.…”

Retrieval analysis of PEEK rods pedicle screw system: three cases analysis

“…Over time, the use of PEEK rods in clinical practice has grown, leading to a rise in relevant reports [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, there is a lack of research concerning complications and retrieval analysis.…”

Comparison of biomechanical effects of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) rods and titanium rods in lumbar long-segment instrumentation: a finite element study

“…Its elastic modulus (3.6 GPa) is much lower than that of titanium alloys and closer to that of bone, and thus PEEK can better balance the load distribution between the anterior and posterior columns ( Kurtz and Devine, 2007 ; Ponnappan et al, 2009 ; Ma and Tang, 2014 ; Li et al, 2018 ; Laubach et al, 2022 ; Wu et al, 2023 ). In previous studies, PEEK rods were successfully used for short-segment lumbar internal fixation with good clinical outcomes ( Zhao et al, 2022 ; Li et al, 2023a ). However, limited studies have reported their application in long-segment lumbar internal fixation.…”