Curb the Pain of Spondylolisthesis; Comparing Posterolateral Fusion with Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the pain of patients with spondylolisthesis who had undergone either of the surgery techniques: posterolateral fusion (PLF) or posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF).Methods & Materials/Patients: In a prospective observational study, 102 surgical candidates with low grade degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis were enrolled from 2012 to 2014. The observed patients were into two groups: PLF and PLIF. Assessing of pain has been done by a questionnaire using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. The questionnaire was completed by all patients before surgery, the day after surgery, after six months and after one year. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of age and sex distribution, type of spondylolisthesis and pre-operation pain between groups (p>0.05). Comparison of the mean VAS scores of two groups over the whole study period showed a significant statistical difference (p-value<0.05), although comparison of VAS at three points in time showed a mixed result. VAS scores showed no significant differences between two groups before surgery, the day after surgery and one year after surgery (p>0.05), but the difference of mean VAS scores between groups 6 months after surgery was statistically significant (p<0.05). Analyzing the course of VAS scores over the study period showed a descending pattern for either of the groups (p<0.0001). Both surgical fusion techniques (PLF & PLIF) showed to be effective in treating low grade degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis, but PLIF was related to better outcome with respect to pain control.