Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria |
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• Indication for monosegmental lumbar spinal fusion with osteochondrosis (Modic grades I–III) or spondylolisthesis (Meyerding grades I–III) with instability • Radiological signs of degeneration without instability in the level cranially adjacent to the intended fusion • Definition of adjacent segment degeneration using MRI (Pfirrmann grades II–IV) | • No degeneration in the segment cranial to the segment intended for fusion • Previous lumbar surgery • Motor deficits • Scoliosis with a Cobb angle > 25° • Spondylolisthesis (Meyerding grade > III) • No prior history of metabolic bone disease • No previous osteoporotic fracture of the lumbar vertebrae |