Abstract:Objective To investigate the clinical effect of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (Mis-TLIF) in treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis.Methods The clinical data of 83 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis from January 2014 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, the patients were divided into Mis-TLIF group (n = 40) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) group (n = 43) by different surgical methods. The causes of lumbar spinal stenosis in Mis-TLIF group: lumbar spondylolisthesis of 15 cases, lumbar disc herniation of 13 cases, facet hyperplasia of 12 cases. The causes of lumbar spinal canal stenosis in PLIF group: lumbar spondylolisthesis of 18 cases, lumbar disc herniation of 15 cases, facet hyperplasia of 10 cases. Perioperative indicators, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) at 1 day, 1 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery were compared between the two groups.Results The operation time was (109.4 ± 10.4) min, length of incision was (8.2 ± 1.3) cm and postoperative bed rest time was (2.4 ± 1.1) d in Mis-TLIF group, they were significantly shorter than those in PLIF group [(141.5 ± 12.2) min, (15.8 ± 1.6) cm and (3.5 ± 2.8) d]. The intraoperative blood loss was (511.89 ± 49.7) mL and postoperative drainage was (101.6 ± 31.3) mL in Mis-TLIF group, they were significantly lower than those in PLIF group [(697.4 ± 55.2) and (305.5 ± 77.1) mL]. The VAS and ODI in Mis-TLIF group were lower than those in PLIF group at postoperative periods, and the difference was statistically significant. Postoperative follow-up, there was no significant difference in postoperative melting index (number of postoperative loosening of internal fixation+number of bone bridge formation in CT review) between the two groups.Conclusion Mis-TLIF is superior to PLIF in treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis in terms of operative time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay, postoperative functional recovery, etc, but the operative indications should be strictly controlled to avoid the occurrence of adverse events.