Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) surgery is a type of spinal fusion. PLIF is treatment for leg pain and lower back pain that happens when intervertebral disks — the soft round disks that separate your vertebrae — are damaged or wear out.

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) aims to fuse two levels of the spine by taking a surgical approach from behind the lumbar spine. Specifically, the abbreviation PLIF stands for: Posterior, meaning from the back; Lumbar, referring to the lumbar spine in the lower back; Interbody, meaning the area between two adjacent vertebral bones in ...

Aug 3, 2023 · Spinal fusion surgery is a procedure that links two vertebrae in your back so that they no longer move independently of each other. This can stabilize your back structure and reduce symptoms like pain, numbness or weakness in body areas further down.

This anterior/posterior lumbar fusion procedure is usually done for patients with a high degree of spinal instability (e.g. fractures), or in revision surgery (if the initial fusion did not set up), although some spine surgeons do prefer the anterior/posterior fusion surgery as a …

May 12, 2023 · “PLIF” stands for “Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion.” It is a surgical procedure used to treat spinal instability or other conditions that cause pain or nerve compression in the lower back.

In posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), your surgeon inserts the spacer or cage from the back of the spine. With this approach, your surgeon gains access to your spine by removing the bone (lamina) and then retracting (moving) the nerve roots to one side.

Jan 19, 2024 · Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is a spinal surgery technique that can alleviate lower back pain and/or leg pain by removing a damaged spinal disc and fusing the pain-generating spinal segment.

Posterior fusion procedures in the lumbar spine are used to treat spine instability, severe degenerative disc disease, and fractures in the lumbar spine. Other procedures are usually done along with the spinal fusion to take the pressure off nearby nerves.

After a spinal fusion surgery is performed, the following processes occur: A living bone bridge is formed between the two surrounding vertebrae. Depending on the surgical approach, this bridge develops either behind the disc between the posterior …

Posterior Lumbar Fusion (PLF) is the general term used to describe the technique of surgically mending two (or more) lumbar spine bones together along the sides of the bone. Bone graft is placed along side the spine bones (not in between the disc spaces, which is called an interbody fusion), and ultimately fuses together.