Comparison of Clinical Outcomes, Complications Rate and Treatment Costs of Mini-TLIF and MIDLIF in the Treatment of Discogenic Low Back Pain

NCT ID: NCT07127380

Last Updated: 2025-08-27

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

100 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-01-19

Study Completion Date

2027-01-31

Brief Summary

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Background

Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is the leading cause of lower back pain and disability, which prevalence increasing with age. When conservative treatment fails, surgical methods of spinal fusion are employed. Minimally invasive techniques, including minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) and midline lumbar interbody fusion (MIDLIF), have well-documented advantages over traditional open transforaminal interbody fusion (open-TLIF). However, data comparing these two minimally invasive methods in treating DDD are minimal and sometimes contradictory. I am running a few minutes late; my previous meeting is running over.

Methods This is a prospective, randomized, partially blinded, two-arm trial aiming to compare the outcomes, complications, and treatment costs of MIS-TLIF and MIDLIF in patients with discogenic low back pain. A total of 100 adult patients with lumbosacral spine pain and radicular symptoms, unresponsive to conservative treatment for over one year, will be enrolled. Patients will be randomized (1:1) into two arms: MIS-TLIF (control, n=50) and MIDLIF (intervention, n=50), with a 12-month follow-up. Inclusion criteria include age ≥18 years and discopathy at one or two levels requiring interbody stabilization. Exclusion criteria include multilevel pathology, spinal deformities, and pain causes other than degenerative disease. Primary endpoints assess pain (VAS, NRS scales), disability (COMI, ODI questionnaires), and quality of life (EQ-5D-5L questionnaire) at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-surgery. Secondary endpoints include complication rates (nerve root damage, infections), costs (hospitalization, implants), length of hospital stay, procedure duration, blood loss, morphometric parameters (intervertebral space height), and adjacent segment disease based on imaging studies (MRI, CT, X-ray). Data analysis uses parametric/non-parametric tests (e.g., t-test, Mann-Whitney) in the R software. The trial adheres to the Helsinki Declaration, with ethics approval (no. 112/2024).

Discussion Data on the comparison of MIDLIF and MIS-TLIF in treating DDD are minimal and inconsistent. Some reports have advantaged MIDLIF in shorter operative time, decreased intraoperative blood loss, and reduced hospital stays, while others favor MIS-TLIF. This trial addresses these gaps by providing high-quality evidence on clinical superiority, cost-effectiveness, and long-term outcomes compering MIDLIF and MIS-TLIF. There is a high need for a high-quality, prospective study to examine this problem.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Lower Back Pain Chronic Lumbar Degenerative Disease Lumbar Disc Degeneration Degenerative Disc Disease(DDD)

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Investigators

Study Groups

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Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (mini-TLIF)

Lumbar fusion is obatained by Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (mini-TLIF)

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Minimally invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (mini-TLIF) is a procedure that employs a percutaneous approach for pedicle screw placement through the pedicles. Decompression is performed using a lateral approach, with 2-3 cm lateral to the ipsilateral borders. This is followed by resection of the inferior articular process and removal of the ligamentum flavum, facilitating discectomy. An interbody cage is then inserted to achieve fusion.

Midline Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIDLIF)

Lumbar fusion is obtained by Midline Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Midline Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIDLIF)

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Midline Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIDLIF) is a procedure utilizes a medial approach to the spine, involving the retraction of the segmental back muscles to expose the lamine and articular processes. Screw placement is medialized, with entry to a point along the pars intercularis or joint surface. It places the screw through potentially more cortical and stronger bone. Decompression is achieved by resecting the inferior articular process and lamina marginalis, followed by a discectomy. Subsequently, a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is performed to place an interbody cage and promote fusion.

Interventions

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Midline Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIDLIF)

Midline Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIDLIF) is a procedure utilizes a medial approach to the spine, involving the retraction of the segmental back muscles to expose the lamine and articular processes. Screw placement is medialized, with entry to a point along the pars intercularis or joint surface. It places the screw through potentially more cortical and stronger bone. Decompression is achieved by resecting the inferior articular process and lamina marginalis, followed by a discectomy. Subsequently, a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is performed to place an interbody cage and promote fusion.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (mini-TLIF)

Minimally invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (mini-TLIF) is a procedure that employs a percutaneous approach for pedicle screw placement through the pedicles. Decompression is performed using a lateral approach, with 2-3 cm lateral to the ipsilateral borders. This is followed by resection of the inferior articular process and removal of the ligamentum flavum, facilitating discectomy. An interbody cage is then inserted to achieve fusion.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Discogenic lower lumbar-sacral pain lasting longer than one year
* Failure of conservative treatment, including rehabilitation and pain management
* Lumbar discopathy qualified for interbody fusion and pedicle screw stabilization
* Informed consent of the patient for the study and proposed treatment

Exclusion Criteria

* Contraindications to surgery under general anesthesia
* Age \< 18 years
* Pregnancy, breastfeeding
* Lack of informed consent to participate in the study
* Lumbar-sac discopathy requiring surgical treatment at more than two levels
* Spinal deformities: adult idiopathic scoliosis, degenerative scoliosis, deformity due to spinal malignancy, inflammatory spinal disease, post-traumatic, or associated with congenital anomalies
* Lower lumbar-sacral pain syndrome, which, in the investigator's opinion, has an etiology other than degenerative spine disease (e.g., cancer-related pain, ankylosing spondylitis)
* Spinal oncology disease
* True and degenerative spondylolisthesis
* Contraindications to performing MRI of the lumbar-sacral spine
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Copernicus Memorial Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Kamil Krystkiewicz

MD, PhD, neurosurgeon

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Łódź, Poland

Lodz, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Poland

Central Contacts

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Aleksander Kowal, MD

Role: CONTACT

+48426895341

Kamil Krystkiewicz, MD, PhD

Role: CONTACT

+48426895341

Facility Contacts

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Aleksander Kowal, MD

Role: primary

+48426895341

References

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Silva PS, Jardim A, Pereira J, Sousa R, Vaz R, Pereira P. Minimally invasive fusion surgery for patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis and severe lumbar spinal stenosis: a comparative study between MIDLIF and TLIF. Eur Spine J. 2023 Sep;32(9):3210-3217. doi: 10.1007/s00586-023-07847-6. Epub 2023 Jul 9.

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Crawford CH 3rd, Owens RK 2nd, Djurasovic M, Gum JL, Dimar JR 2nd, Carreon LY. Minimally-Invasive midline posterior interbody fusion with cortical bone trajectory screws compares favorably to traditional open transforaminal interbody fusion. Heliyon. 2019 Sep 11;5(9):e02423. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02423. eCollection 2019 Sep.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31535047 (View on PubMed)

Parker SL, Adogwa O, Witham TF, Aaronson OS, Cheng J, McGirt MJ. Post-operative infection after minimally invasive versus open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF): literature review and cost analysis. Minim Invasive Neurosurg. 2011 Feb;54(1):33-7. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1269904. Epub 2011 Apr 19.

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Xue J, Song Y, Liu H, Liu L, Li T, Gong Q. Minimally invasive versus open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for single segmental lumbar disc herniation: A meta-analysis. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2022;35(3):505-516. doi: 10.3233/BMR-210004.

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Heemskerk JL, Oluwadara Akinduro O, Clifton W, Quinones-Hinojosa A, Abode-Iyamah KO. Long-term clinical outcome of minimally invasive versus open single-level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for degenerative lumbar diseases: a meta-analysis. Spine J. 2021 Dec;21(12):2049-2065. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2021.07.006. Epub 2021 Jul 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34273567 (View on PubMed)

Phani Kiran S, Sudhir G. Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion - A narrative review on the present status. J Clin Orthop Trauma. 2021 Sep 8;22:101592. doi: 10.1016/j.jcot.2021.101592. eCollection 2021 Nov.

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PMID: 34603954 (View on PubMed)

Zhang X, Zhang Y, Gu Z, Li G. Comparison of midline lumbar interbody fusion and minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for treatment of lumbar degeneration disease. Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 27;14(1):22154. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-73213-1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 39333680 (View on PubMed)

Wang YY, Chung YH, Huang CH, Hu MH. Comparison of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and midline lumbar interbody fusion in patients with spondylolisthesis. J Orthop Surg Res. 2024 May 9;19(1):286. doi: 10.1186/s13018-024-04764-2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 38725087 (View on PubMed)

Silva F, Silva PS, Vaz R, Pereira P. Midline lumbar interbody fusion (MIDLIF) with cortical screws: initial experience and learning curve. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2019 Dec;161(12):2415-2420. doi: 10.1007/s00701-019-04079-w. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31650331 (View on PubMed)

Dave BR, Marathe N, Mayi S, Degulmadi D, Rai RR, Patil S, Jadav K, Bali SK, Kumar A, Meena U, Parmar V, Amin P, Dave M, Krishnan PA, Krishnan A. Does Conventional Open TLIF cause more Muscle Injury when Compared to Minimally Invasive TLIF?-A Prospective Single Center Analysis. Global Spine J. 2024 Jan;14(1):93-100. doi: 10.1177/21925682221095467. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35442112 (View on PubMed)

Modi HN, Shrestha U. Comparison of Clinical Outcome and Radiologic Parameters in Open TLIF Versus MIS-TLIF in Single- or Double-Level Lumbar Surgeries. Int J Spine Surg. 2021 Oct;15(5):962-970. doi: 10.14444/8126. Epub 2021 Sep 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Tan JH, Liu G, Ng R, Kumar N, Wong HK, Liu G. Is MIS-TLIF superior to open TLIF in obese patients?: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Spine J. 2018 Aug;27(8):1877-1886. doi: 10.1007/s00586-018-5630-0. Epub 2018 Jun 1.

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Mobbs RJ, Phan K, Malham G, Seex K, Rao PJ. Lumbar interbody fusion: techniques, indications and comparison of interbody fusion options including PLIF, TLIF, MI-TLIF, OLIF/ATP, LLIF and ALIF. J Spine Surg. 2015 Dec;1(1):2-18. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2414-469X.2015.10.05.

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Mohd Isa IL, Teoh SL, Mohd Nor NH, Mokhtar SA. Discogenic Low Back Pain: Anatomy, Pathophysiology and Treatments of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 22;24(1):208. doi: 10.3390/ijms24010208.

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Other Identifiers

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112/2024

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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