A variety of implant-related short and long-term complications after lumbar fusion surgery are recognized. Mid to long-term complications due to cage migration and/or cage subsidence are less frequently reported. Here, we report a patient with a complete cage migration into the superior adjacent vertebral body almost 20 years after the initial posterior lumbar interbody fusion procedure. In this patient, the cage migration/subsidence was clinically silent, but a selective decompression for adjacent segment degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis was performed. We discuss the risk factors for cage migration/subsidence in view of the current literature.
Keywords: Cage migration; Cage subsidence; Complication; Interbody fusion; PLIF.
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