1944
The PLIF procedure was first described in 1944 by Briggs and Milligan 1) who used laminectomy bone chips in the disc space as interbody graft. In 1946, Jaslow 2) modified the technique by positioning an excised portion of the spinous process within the intervertebral space. It was not until 1953 when Cloward 3) described his technique, which used impacted blocks of iliac crest autograft that the popularity of PLIF surgery increased. Although technically more difficult than posterolateral fusion techniques (i.e., intertransverse fusion in which bone graft spans between the transverse processes), the PLIF procedure was found to have the advantage of substantially increased fusion rates, often in excess of 85%. Despite the increased fusion rate, this technique was fraught with complications related to blood loss, dural/neural injury, graft extrusion, and arachnoiditis 4).
Publications
Bailey OT, Ingraham FD. CHEMICAL, CLINICAL, AND IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE PRODUCTS OF HUMAN PLASMA FRACTIONATION. XXII. FIBRIN FILMS IN NEUROSURGERY, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR USE IN THE REPAIR OF DURAL DEFECTS AND IN THE PREVENTION OF MENINGOCEREBRAL ADHESIONS. J Clin Invest. 1944 Jul;23(4):597-600. PubMed PMID: 16695140; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC435378.
Bailey OT, Ingraham FD. CHEMICAL, CLINICAL, AND IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE PRODUCTS OF HUMAN PLASMA FRACTIONATION. XXI. THE USE OF FIBRIN FOAM AS A HEMOSTATIC AGENT IN NEUROSURGERY: CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL STUDIES. J Clin Invest. 1944 Jul;23(4):591-6. PubMed PMID: 16695139; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC435377.
JENTZER A. [Not Available]. Confin Neurol. 1944-1945;6(5):257-69. Undetermined Language. PubMed PMID: 21013997.