RESEARCH ARTICLE
Minimally Invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion: 2-Year Radiographic and Clinical Outcomes with a Principles-Based SIJ Fusion System
William W Cross1, Arnold Delbridge2, Donald Hales3, Louis C Fielding4, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 12
First Page: 7
Last Page: 16
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-12-7
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001812010007
Article History:
Received Date: 17/11/2017Revision Received Date: 29/12/2017
Acceptance Date: 29/12/2017
Electronic publication date: 17/01/2018
Collection year: 2018
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) degeneration is a common source of low back pain (LBP). Minimally invasive (MI) SIJ fusion procedures have demonstrated meaningful clinical improvement. A recently developed MI SIJ fusion system incorporates decortication, placement of bone graft and fixation with threaded implants (DC/BG/TF).
Patients and Methods:
Nineteen patients who had MI SIJ fusion with DC/BG/TF were enrolled at three centers. Fusion was assessed in CT images obtained 12 and 24 months postoperatively by an independent radiographic core laboratory. LBP was assessed using a 0-10 numerical pain scale (NPS) preoperatively and at 12 and 24 months postoperatively.
Results:
At 12 months, 15/19 patients (79%) had bridging bone across the SIJ, and at 24 months 17/18 patients (94%) available for follow-up had SIJ fusion. Of the patients with bridging bone 88% had fusion within the decorticated area, with solid fusion in 83%. A significant reduction in NPS scores was demonstrated, representing a 73% reduction in average low back pain.
Conclusion:
The patients in this series demonstrated significant improvement in LBP. Fusion rates at 24 months demonstrate promise for this system, which utilizes the established orthopedic principles of DC/BG/TF to achieve arthrodesis. Further study is warranted to demonstrate comparative fusion rates for different implant systems.