Clinical use of quantitative computed tomography to evaluate the effect of less paraspinal muscle damage on bone mineral density changes after lumbar interbody fusion.

QCT can reliably determine BMD in the instrumented spine after lumbar interbody fusion. With QCT, we found that reducing paraspinal muscle destruction through the Wiltse approach during surgery can help preserve the adjacent vertebral BMD; however, it does not help increase the BMD in the instrumented vertebrae.