ALIF (anterior lumbar interbody fusion)

ALIF stands for anterior lumbar interbody fusion. This involves securing the back along the front with a large cage that is placed between the vertebrae.

For whom

Most patients with low back and/or leg pain will not require surgery. When non-operative treatment does not help enough, surgery may be necessary. The goal of surgery is to relieve you of severe pain and return stability to your back.

Cause

The cause of the pain is wear and tear of the intervertebral disc (disc) at the base of the back. This is a normal aging phenomenon that occurs in everyone. The degree to which it occurs varies from person to person. This wear and tear occurs in the most mobile links of the back, at the level of the neck and low back. It can occur after years of heavy loading or due to instability of a link (after herniated disc surgery).

Lumbar disc hernia (low back herniat)

Intervention

Depending on the level to be operated on, an incision is made below the navel or over the bikini line. The intervertebral disc is removed in totality without touching the spinal cord and nerves. In this way, the normal shape of the vertebrae is preserved and you have no damage to the back muscles.

The height of the intervertebral disc is raised by placing a hollow cage that is filled with your own bone (bone greffes) or bone substitute. The cage is additionally anchored by screws. In some cases, a plate is placed at the front of the vertebrae. After surgery, it takes several months for the vertebrae to grow together. This proces is followed up by radiographs.
RX skeleton

Recovery

After surgery, it is important to adopt varied postures. It is best not to do any back-straining activities. During your stay in the hospital you will be shown how to move around safely. Your attending physician will discuss with you which activities you should best not do and for how long. The start of muscle-strengthening physical therapy is also reviewed during this consultation.

Want to know more about your rehabilitation?

After orthopaedic surgery, you can follow a specialised rehabilitation program.

Orthopaedic rehabilitation

Departments

For more information, please visit the orthopaedics department.

Telephone 011 33 42 86