Extreme lateral lumbar interbody fusion (XLIF)

Last edited and medically reviewed by Alaric Steinmetz on 29.05.2026

In XLIF, Stabilization of at least two Vertebral body is performed via a lateral approach[^1][^2].

Figure

Schematic XLIF — Schematic illustration of the XLIF approach. Figure adapted from Ozgur et al. 2016.

LIFs — Illustration of the various LIF approaches. Figure adapted from Mobbs, Ralph J., et al. Lumbar interbody fusion: techniques, indications and comparison of interbody fusion options including PLIF, TLIF, MI-TLIF, OLIF/ATP, LLIF and ALIF. Journal of Spine Surgery 1.1 (2015): 2, under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.

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