Patient demographics and operative data.
| Characteristic | sa-ALIF and ALIF + PSF (n = 51) | sa-ALIF (n = 22) | ALIF + PSF (n = 29) | P |
| Men, n (%) | 30 (58.8) | 12 (54.5) | 18 (62.1) | NS |
| Age (mean ± SD) | 46.4 ± 12.8 | 43.3 ± 14.1 | 48.7 ± 11.4 | NS |
| Follow-up in years (mean ± SD) | 3.9 ± 3.2 | 2.1 ± 1.8 | 5.3 ± 3.4 | 0.004 |
| BMI kg/m2 (mean ± SD) | 26.6 ± 4.1 | 24.1 ± 2.6 | 27.9 ± 4.2 | 0.02 |
| Smoking status (n, %) | ||||
| Yes | 4 (7.8) | 1 (4.5) | 3 (10.3) | NS |
| Ex | 11 (21.6) | 1 (4.5) | 10 (34.5) | 0.0100 |
| No | 36 (70.6) | 20 (91.0 | 16 (55.2) | 0.0055 |
| Insurance status | ||||
| Private | 50 | 21 | 29 | NS |
| Worker’s compensation | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Grade | ||||
| I | 43 | 22 | 21 | 0.0073 |
| II | 8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Operation | ||||
| Single level | 47 | 20 | 27 | NS |
| L4/5 TDR and L5/S1 ALIF | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| L4/5 ALIF and L5/S1 ALIF | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Cage type | ||||
| Cage + buttress plate | 6 | 1 | 5 | NS |
| Integrated cage | 45 | 21 | 24 | |
| Bone substitute | ||||
| rhBMP-2 | 31 (60.8) | 5 (22.7) | 26 (89.7) | <0.0001 |
| DBA | 20 (39.2) | 17 (77.3) | 3 (10.3) | <0.0001 |
Abbreviations: ALIF, anterior lumbar interbody fusion; BMI, body mass index; DBA, demineralized bone allograft; NS, not significant; PSF, pedicle-screw fixation; rhBMP-2, recombinant human bone morphogenic protein 2; sa-ALIF, standalone anterior lumbar interbody fusion; TDR, total disc replacement.