Direct repair of defects in lumbar spondylolysis by using a combination of computer-assisted minimally invasive spine surgery and the Buck technique

The Buck technique has been used for a long time in treating lumbar spondylolysis; however, the use of this technique was limited by defects such as screw misplacement. Nowadays, the Computer-Assisted Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (CAMISS) technique is widely used in spine surgery; however, research on the treatment of lumbar spondylolysis has rarely been reported. In our study, 23 patients with lumbar spondylolysis were managed with CAMISS- Buck surgery. The average operative duration was 97.8 +/- 14.9 min, and amount of blood loss was 38.0 +/- 15.6 ml. Among all 23 patients, 22 were followed for 24.2 months on an average. The postoperative and follow-up Oswestry Disability Index and the postoperative and follow-up visual analogue scale scores significantly improved compared with the preoperative values. According to the follow-up radiographic results, the screw implantation was excellent (rate, 100%) and the solid fusion rate was 81.8%. In addition, no postoperative complications were observed. In conclusion, the CAMISS-Buck technique is a feasible approach in treating lumbar spondylolysis.