Posterior Dynamic Stabilization as a Salvage Procedure for Lumbar Facet Degeneration Following Total Disc Arthroplasty

Following an L5-S1 SB Charité disc III implantation, a 37-year-old female patient developed intractable radicular pain in the left L5 distribution. The patient underwent a minimally invasive foraminotomy, and her symptoms improved significantly. However, following recurrence of radicular pain, she showed signs of an L5-S1 facet degeneration and recurrent nerve root compression from hypertrophied synovium. A partial facetectomy was then performed to completely decompress the L5 root with supplemental posterior dynamic stabilization using a pedicle-based flexible titanium rod system. To date, the patient remains free of symptoms. Although posterolateral fusion would have been a viable option, the application of a posterior dynamic system permitted segmental motion preservation.