Uniportal endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion versus minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

UELIF and MIS-TLIF showed comparable outcomes regarding disc height, lumbar lordosis, fusion rates, and complication rates. Although MIS-TLIF exhibited shorter operation time and reduced intraoperative fluoroscopy duration, UELIF provided significant advantages by minimizing blood loss, postoperative drainage, creatine kinase, CRP, ambulation time, and hospital stays. Furthermore, UELIF showed superior efficacy in alleviating early postoperative low back pain and leg pain and promoting early postoperative lumbar function recovery. Given study limitations, such as the majority of retrospective studies and significant heterogeneity, high-quality multicenter randomized controlled trials are recommended in the future to confirm these findings and guide clinical practice.