Neurosurgeon
Neurosurgeon
Treatment / Procedures / ALIF · LUMBAR FUSION
Lumbar fusion through the front of the abdomen, allowing a larger cage, greater height restoration, and indirect nerve decompression. Niceville, Florida.
ALIF reaches the lumbar disc space from the front, removing the disc completely and placing a large structural cage without disturbing the back muscles.
Anterior lumbar interbody fusion, or ALIF, reaches the spine from the front through a low abdominal approach, working around the abdominal organs and major blood vessels to reach the front of the lumbar disc space. This front access allows complete disc removal and a large cage that fills most of the disc space, giving excellent height restoration, curve correction, and indirect nerve decompression.
ALIF is especially useful at L5-S1, the lowest level, where the front approach gives the best access and allows the largest cage. It avoids disturbing the back muscles, which is a real advantage for patients who have already had surgery from behind.
ALIF is most often done at L5-S1 with added screws from behind, or as part of a combined front-and-back surgery for multilevel disease. Dr. Enguidanos performs ALIF at HCA Florida Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville, Florida, often with a vascular or general surgery colleague for the front approach.
ALIF is recommended only after appropriate non-surgical care has not resolved the problem. Physical therapy, medication, activity changes, and injections are evaluated first.
When persistent pain and instability remain despite conservative care, and the anatomy favors a front approach, ALIF becomes the appropriate next step.
A low abdominal incision reaches the front of the lumbar spine through the space behind the abdominal cavity. The organs are gently moved aside and the major vessels are carefully mobilized to expose the front of the disc.
The disc is removed completely and the endplates are prepared. The space is opened to restore height and curve, and a large cage packed with bone graft is placed. The front approach allows a much larger cage than back approaches. In most cases, small screws are added from behind through a separate incision to complete the construct.
TLIF is one of several ways to fuse the lumbar spine. The right approach depends on the level, your anatomy, and the goals of surgery.
Reaches the disc from the side through the flank with minimal disruption to the back muscles, useful for multilevel disease.
Combines approaches for complex adult deformity needing major realignment.
Every patient who walks through our door follows the same path. It starts with listening and ends only at surgery if nothing else works.
Dr. Enguidanos meets with you personally. He reviews your imaging, takes your full history, and listens carefully to your lifestyle, your goals, and what has and has not worked so far.
In-person with Dr. EnguidanosSurgery is never the first answer. Before any procedure is considered, every appropriate non-surgical option is explored — physical therapy, medication management, injections, and regenerative medicine.
Physical therapy, injections, regenerative medicineWhen conservative care has been exhausted and surgery is the right answer, Dr. Enguidanos applies thirty years of surgical depth. From minimally invasive procedures to complex deformity reconstruction, every level is handled.
Only when everything else has been consideredDR. STEPHEN T. ENGUIDANOS MD | SPINE SURGERY | NICEVILLE, FL
Your information is private and will never be shared.
DR. STEPHEN T. ENGUIDANOS MD | SPINE SURGERY | NICEVILLE, FL
Your information is private and will never be shared.