Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 26, 2020; 8(10): 1958-1965
Published online May 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i10.1958
Lumbar disc rehydration in the bridged segment using the BioFlex dynamic stabilization system: A case report and literature review
Yong-Chao Li, Xiao-Fei Feng, Xiao-Dong Pang, Jun Tan, Bao-Gan Peng
Yong-Chao Li, Xiao-Dong Pang, Bao-Gan Peng, Department of Spinal Surgery, The Third Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100039, China
Yong-Chao Li, Xiao-Fei Feng, Jun Tan, Department of Spinal Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200120, China
Jun Tan, Department of Orthopedics, Pinghu Second People’s Hospital, Pinghu 314201, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Li YC, Feng XF, and Peng BG wrote the manuscript; Li YC, Tan J and Peng BG collected data for review; Li YC, Pang XD and Peng BG treated patients; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by Foundation of Capital Medical Development, Beijing, China, No. 2010026.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no current financial arrangement or affiliation with any organization that may have a direct influence on their work.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bao-Gan Peng, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Director, Department of Spinal Surgery, The Third Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, 69 Yongding Road, Beijing 100039, China. pengbaogan76611@163.com
Received: December 2, 2019
Peer-review started: December 2, 2019
First decision: April 1, 2020
Revised: April 9, 2020
Accepted: April 27, 2020
Article in press: April 27, 2020
Published online: May 26, 2020
Processing time: 174 Days and 21.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

In recent years, the mechanical concept of intervertebral disc regeneration has become more and more popular due to the increasing awareness of the importance of preservation of spine movement. Interestingly, there is increasing evidence, however, that dynamic stabilization systems may compensate non-physiological loads, limit pathological movement, normalize disc height and intradiscal pressure, and provide an adaptive environment for disc regeneration.

CASE SUMMARY

The patient was a 54-year-old man, who presented with a 10-year history of mechanical back pain, which had become progressively serious and radiated into the left lower limb with numbness 3 mo prior. He had decreased muscle strength (class IV) of the left dorsal extensor and plantar flexor. Magnetic resonance imaging scans showed L3-S1 disc degeneration and L4-L5 disc herniation. Because the patient did not respond to various conservative treatments, he underwent a posterior L4-5 discectomy with fixation of the BioFlex dynamic stabilization system (Bio-Spine, Seoul, Korea). Preoperative symptoms were relieved and lumbar function was markedly improved after the operation. L4-L5 disc rehydration of instrumented segment was noted on magnetic resonance imaging at the 2-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Rehydration of the degenerated disc in our patient indicates that the BioFlex dynamic stabilization system may promote disc regeneration. Further research is needed to provide more evidence to support lumbar disc rehydration in the bridged segment using this system.

Keywords: Disc regeneration; Dynamic stabilization system; Degenerative disc disease; Magnetic resonance imaging; BioFlex; Case report

Core tip: The mechanical concept of intervertebral disc regeneration has become more and more popular due to the increasing awareness of the importance of preservation of spine movement. Interestingly, there is increasing evidence that dynamic stabilization systems may provide an adaptive environment for disc regeneration. In this study, we showed supporting evidence of rehydration of a degenerated disc after implantation of the BioFlex dynamic stabilization system, and reviewed the relevant medical literature.