ALIF (Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion)

Type of spinal fusion that utilizes an anterior (front – through the abdominal region) approach to mend the lumbar spine bones together. Interbody fusion means the intervertebral disc is removed and replaced with a metal spacer, in this case using an anterior approach. The anterior technique is often favored when multiple spinal levels are being fused and thus multiple discs need to be replaced.

Typical conditions that may need this treatment are a cervical herniated disc, degenerative disc,spondylolisthesis (slippage of one vertebral bone over another) or abnormal curvatures of the spine, also known as scoliosis