{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T06:07:03Z","timestamp":1789020423102,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Contralateral radiculopathy is an infrequently reported postoperative complication in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) who receive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Herein, we report two clinical cases with this complication associated with preoperative facet tropism. Case 1 involved a patient with L4\/5 DS presenting with radiating pain in the right lower extremity; new-onset left lower limb weakness and radicular pain occurred immediately after TLIF via the right side. A revision resection of the left L5 superior articular process (SAP) led to marked improvement of the patient's symptoms. Case 2 was diagnosed with L4\/5 DS, and this patient developed right lower-extremity pain and weakness after left-sided primary TLIF. The contralateral radicular symptoms were significantly relieved via percutaneous endoscopic foraminotomy. This complication arises from mechanical compression of the exiting spinal nerve root by a sagittalized SAP (associated with facet tropism) after complete segmental reduction in the two cases. Surgical revision is indicated once this adverse event is identified, and percutaneous endoscopic foraminotomy may be a minimally invasive option in selected patients and in experienced hands.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1837069","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T05:33:10Z","timestamp":1789018390000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Case Report: Contralateral radiculopathy associated with facet tropism after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Xiaowen","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Spinal Surgery, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University","place":["Yantai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiangwei","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Spinal Surgery, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University","place":["Yantai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.2106\/00004623-199603000-00012","article-title":"Orientation of the lumbar facet joints: association with degenerative disc disease","volume":"78","author":"Boden","year":"1996","journal-title":"J Bone Joint Surg Am"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1755","DOI":"10.1097\/01.BRS.0000134575.04084.EF","article-title":"Facet orientation in the thoracolumbar spine: three-dimensional anatomic and biomechanical analysis","volume":"29","author":"Masharawi","year":"2004","journal-title":"Spine"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1097\/00003086-200104000-00015","article-title":"Orientation and osteoarthritis of the lumbar facet joint","volume":"385","author":"Fujiwara","year":"2001","journal-title":"Clin Orthop Relat Res"},{"key":"B4","first-page":"179","article-title":"The relation of facet orientation to intervertebral disc failure","volume":"10","author":"Farfan","year":"1967","journal-title":"Can J Surg"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"483","DOI":"10.1186\/s12891-017-1849-x","article-title":"Correlation between facet tropism and lumbar degenerative disease: a retrospective analysis","volume":"18","author":"Gao","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMC Musculoskelet Disord"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"236","DOI":"10.1097\/BSD.0000000000000298","article-title":"Degenerative spondylolisthesis","volume":"28","author":"Koreckij","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Spinal Disord Tech"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1177\/2192568217712494","article-title":"Lumbar interbody fusions for degenerative spondylolisthesis: review of techniques, indications, and outcomes","volume":"9","author":"Spiker","year":"2019","journal-title":"Glob Spine J"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"847","DOI":"10.1227\/NEU.0000000000000913","article-title":"Surgical outcomes for minimally invasive vs open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"77","author":"Khan","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neurosurgery"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1055\/a-1994-7857","article-title":"Is full-endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion superior to open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for single-level degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis? 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