Symptoms: Impingement of nerves and
fatigue of back muscles 
XLIF Correction: Reduces motion between
vertebrae, corrects alignment,
and restores disc height
XLIF is less disruptive to the surrounding tissues, the XLIF procedure requires less operative time and results in minimal surgical blood loss and quicker postoperative recovery than traditional approaches.
- Patient is a 53-year old woman who has been suffering from low back pain since 1995. Her pain level is a 7-9 out of 10 and radiates down the posterior aspect of the left leg and thigh posteriorly. Her pain is worst in the evenings and wakes her up at night. It is worse with coughing or sneezing and activities such as cooking, cleaning or walking. Her leg pain is relieved with resting and it gets better with leaning forward.
- She has had physical therapy almost continually for three months, that gave her temporary relief , then the pain returned. She has had steroid injections recently and four years ago and also six years ago, which helped for a short time , but then again the pain returned.
- She has had a previous surgery in her lumbar spine in 1995 but is not sure what operation was preformed. She is working part time . She works at a desk and her work does not involve any heavy lifting.
- Physical examination: Her height is 5 foot 4 inches, weight 170 pounds. She has a slight antalgic gate . Lumbar spine extension is limited to only 5 degrees. She has full flexion, full lateral bending and full rotation.
- The X-rays showed no instability on flexion and extension but there is moderate to severe bone loss of disc space height at L4-L5.
- MRI of the lumbar spine showed disc space narrowing at L4-L5 and probable right sided laminotomy.
- Her EMG shows mild left peroneal radiculopathy.
- PATHOLOGY: Severe degenerative disc disease at L4- L5. Patient has verbalized her understanding of the risks, benefits and alternatives and her willingness to proceed with XLIF Surgery.
- Most importantly, the patient is doing well and resuming normal activity pain free.
