Comparison of the unilateral and the bilateral pedicle screw fixation without using of an interbody cage

The clinical results of the unilateral pedicle screw fixation are no way inferior to applying the bilateral fixation. However, in the course of studies no direct comparison of the unilateral and the bilateral fixation with pedicle screws was carried out without the implant being inserted into the interbody space. Objective: to evaluate the results of unilateral and bilateral pedicle screw fixation without using of an interbody cage.Matherials and methods. A prospective randomized study of 40 patients was carried out - the patients underwent the unilateral or the bilateral pedicle screw fixation (PSF) while diagnosed with a single-level degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Twenty patients were assigned to the group of the unilateral pedicle screw fixation, while 20 patients were moved to the group of the bilateral PSF. Such factors as surgery timing, blood loss volume, clinical outcomes (scores on the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)), complication of the spine fusion incidence were evaluated with the use of computed tomography (CT) in 6-12 months after surgical treatment.Results. These 2 groups were similar in age, gender, preoperative diagnosis and the level of surgery and did not differ much neither in the duration of the follow-up observation, (14.3 (group 1) versus 14.1 (group 2) months), p>0,05, nor in clinical results or the occurrence of posterior fusion. In fact, both groups showed a significant improvement in VAS and ODI in 1 year after surgical treatment. The two groups significantly differed in the surgery timing (unilateral - 92.4 minutes; bilateral - 131.2 minutes) and blood loss volume (unilateral - 157.4 ml; bilateral - 227.2 ml), p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }