Expandable cage designs are effective in spinal fusion, but devices that address more than just disc height alone have additional benefits, according to a study published in the October issue of the International Journal of Spine Surgery.
The study included 75 patients who had navigation-assisted minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with expandable cages. Thirty-five of those patients had expandable cages that only increased disc height, and 40 had cages that addressed height and lodorsis.
Although both groups has significant improvements in clinical outcomes, patients whose cages addressed height and lodorsis saw greater improvements in segmental lordosis and disc angle after a year postoperatively.
“Our study comparing Rise and Sable cages in the lumbar spine show that not all expandable cages produce the same results,” Roger Härtl, MD, an author on the study, told Becker’s. “It highlights different features of expandable technologies and we’re just at the beginning. With future advancements these devices can be optimized to allow for personalized adjustment for individual pathologies.”
