ArticleJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2024
Evaluation of the learning curve and complications in unilateral biportal endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: cumulative sum analysis and risk-adjusted cumulative sum analysis.
Article in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Complications and their prevention in unilateral biportal endoscopy: a systematic review with narrative insights and practical management algorithms.Acta neurochirurgica · 2026Pooled it
- Oblique lumbar interbody fusion versus posterior lumbar interbody fusion for adjacent segment disease following prior lumbar fusion: a meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Learning curve insights in Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic (UBE) spinal procedures: proficiency cutoffs and the impact on efficiency and complications.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Pooled it
- One-hole split endoscopy versus unilateral biportal endoscopy for lumbar degenerative disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical outcomes and complications.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Application of an enhanced recovery after surgery care protocol in patients undergoing lumbar interbody fusion surgery: a meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Learning Curve for Biportal Endoscopic Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion in a Junior Endoscopic Spine Surgeon: A Phase-Specific Retrospective Analysis.Clinics in orthopedic surgery · 2026Article
- Impact of mentorship on the learning curve of unilateral biportal endoscopic unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression in lumbar spinal stenosis: a cumulative sum analysis across 2 generations of surgeons.Wideochirurgia i inne techniki maloinwazyjne = Videosurgery and other miniinvasive techniques · 2026Article
- How many cases to proficiency? A systematic review of the learning curve in endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Review
- Description and assessment of deep ligamentum flavum-preserved modified minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion via unilateral biportal endoscopic assistance: a one-year retrospective cohort study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Interspinous process fixation versus posterior lumbar interbody fusion following decompression for single-level grade I degenerative spondylolisthesis: a retrospective propensity score-matched study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
- Impact of cage position in posterior lumbar interbody fusion on cage subsidence in patients with asymmetric Modic changes and analysis of related risk factors.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
- Advancements in unilateral biportal endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion: a narrative review.European journal of medical research · 2026Review
- The Learning Curve of Endoscopic Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Risk factors for postoperative ileus following transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a retrospective study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Learning curve for biportal endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and 90-day postoperative complications during the learning phase: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Learning curve analysis of unilateral biportal endoscopic technique in the treatment of the lumbar disc herniation combined with spinal stenosis.BMC surgery · 2025Article
- Comparative outcomes of ULIF versus OLIF-LP for lumbar spondylolisthesis: an early efficacy study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Comparative outcomes of midline lumbar fusion and minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in osteoporotic L4/5 spinal stenosis: a two-year retrospective study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Force-limited distance-measurable nerve root retractor plus intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring reduces L5 radiculitis in posterior lumbar interbody fusion.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Early-stage lumbar paraspinal muscle injury: endoscopic versus transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a retrospective comparative analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the learning curve and complications in unilateral biportal endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (ULIF) using the Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) analysis and Risk-adjusted Cumulative Sum (RA-CUSUM) analysis.
methodsThis study retrospectively analyzed 184 consecutive patients who received ULIF in our hospital, including 104 males and 80 females. CUSUM analysis and RA-CUSUM analysis were used to evaluate the learning curve of ULIF based on the operation time and surgical failure rate, respectively. All postoperative complications were defined as surgical failure. Variables of different phases were compared based on the learning curve.
resultsThe CUSUM analysis showed the cutoff point for ULIF was 29 cases, and the RA-CUSUM analysis showed the cutoff point for ULIF was 41 cases. Operating time and hospital stay were significantly decreased as the learning curve progressed (P < 0.05). Visual analogue score (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) at the last follow-up were significantly lower than preoperatively. At the last follow-up, a total of 171 patients reached intervertebral fusion, with a fusion rate of 92.9% (171/184). A total of eleven complications were observed, and RA-CUSUM analysis showed that the incidence of complications in the early phase was 17.07% and in the late phase was 2.6%, with a significant difference (P < 0.05).
conclusionULIF is an effective minimally invasive lumbar fusion surgical technique. But a learning curve of at least 29 cases will be required to master ULIF, while 41 cases will be required to achieve a stable surgical success rate.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.