Chronic low back pain is a medical cause of disability
in which conservative management is often not effective.
As an alternative, interbody fusion with cylinders offers
several advantages as compared to other surgical methods
of fusion. This technique has been recently introduced in
our Country. The preliminary results of 16 patients managed
in our Department are shown. From 1997 to December 2000,
eleven BAK devices and 5 LIFEC have been implanted. Ten
patients had a minimum follow-up of 1-year and these constitute
the series evaluated. Seven patients (70%) were free
of pain. Four patients (40%) returned to their previous job.
Six patients (60%) did not need medical treatment. The good
results with this technique encourage us and suggest that
these devices are a valid option for the management of
chronic low back pain.

Chronic low back pain is a medical cause of disability
in which conservative management is often not effective.
As an alternative, interbody fusion with cylinders offers
several advantages as compared to other surgical methods
of fusion. This technique has been recently introduced in
our Country. The preliminary results of 16 patients managed
in our Department are shown. From 1997 to December 2000,
eleven BAK devices and 5 LIFEC have been implanted. Ten
patients had a minimum follow-up of 1-year and these constitute
the series evaluated. Seven patients (70%) were free
of pain. Four patients (40%) returned to their previous job.
Six patients (60%) did not need medical treatment. The good
results with this technique encourage us and suggest that
these devices are a valid option for the management of
chronic low back pain.