When it comes to minimally invasive lumbar spine surgery, many patients understand it as a treatment without surgery, such as a small needle, or think that minimally invasive lumbar spine surgery is the name of a certain “small lumbar spine surgery”. In fact, minimally invasive surgery is strictly a concept, a doctor’s pursuit of less trauma and faster recovery for patients, a type of surgery with less trauma and faster recovery compared to traditional surgery. For example, radiofrequency ablation of lumbar discs and foraminoscopic lumbar disc removal are all minimally invasive surgeries of the lumbar spine. Different minimally invasive procedures have different indications for surgery. So, is a general anesthesia, stapled surgery still minimally invasive surgery? This starts with our lumbar fusion surgery. Lumbar fusion surgery is an internal fixation and bone grafting fusion procedure for patients with lumbar degenerative instability, combined with disc herniation or spinal stenosis requiring posterior decompression, with the goal of stabilizing the lumbar spine as soon as possible for patients with lumbar instability or patients who have had their small lumbar joints removed by decompression. With lumbar fusion surgery, the patient can be on the floor 2-3 days after surgery. Posterior interbody fusion (PLIF) is the classic lumbar fusion surgery, but PLIF surgery also has certain limitations, such as the need for extensive paravertebral muscle stripping on both sides of the lumbar spine during surgery, which leads to a certain degree of postoperative denervation of the paravertebral muscle and fibrosis, manifesting as lumbar pain and weakness; the need to remove more posterior structures on both sides, such as the laminae and intervertebral subtalar joints, which objectively weakens the lumbar In 1982, Harms et al. proposed the transvertebral foraminal approach to lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), which only weakens the unilateral posterior structures of the lumbar spine and generally does not require nerve root retraction during surgery. Nevertheless, some disadvantages of open posterior lumbar surgery still affect the efficacy of TLIF surgery. In 2003, Foley first reported the minimally invasive transforaminal approach to lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). Minimally invasive TLIF offers further advantages over traditional open TLIF. The minimally invasive TLIF procedure avoids subperiosteal dissection of the paravertebral muscles, theoretically reducing damage to the paravertebral soft tissues. The advantages of minimally invasive TLIF over open TLIF certainly include less bleeding, shorter average hospital stay, lower incidence of postoperative complications, and less damage to soft tissues. Patients are usually able to move around on the 2nd day after surgery and can be discharged from the hospital in 5-7 days. Indications for surgery Lumbar spondylolisthesis (I° / II°) Lumbar spinal stenosis Recurrent disc herniation with low back pain Post-discectomy intervertebral space collapse leading to foraminal stenosis with nerve root compression Pseudarthrosis Post-laminectomy lumbar lordosis Discogenic low back pain There are no clear absolute contraindications to MIS TILF per se, but relative contraindications include: multi-segment (usually greater than 3 segments) Degenerative disc disease Bilateral peridural fibrosis The presence of joint nerve roots in the intervertebral foramen, because the joint nerve roots happen to be located at the surgical entry point site, and attempts to pull this nerve structure may cause permanent nerve damage Typical case Male, 80 years old, numbness in both lower extremities for 14 years, X-ray and MRI showed lumbar degenerative scoliosis, L3-5 spinal stenosis, L3-5 spinal decompression, MIS TLIF surgery, discharged on the second day after surgery, 5 days after surgery, and has traveled to the field 2 months after surgery.