Controversies in Managing of Thoracic-Lumbar Upper Burst Fractures

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahat Edison Sitorus

Upper burst fracture of Th12-L1 has unique anatomy because it contains lower spinal cord, medullary cone, and diaphragm which separates between the thoracic and lumbar spine.The presence or absence of neurologic deficit is the single most important factor in the decision making. The presence of profound but incomplete neural deficit in association with canal compromise represents an urgent indication of surgical decompression. Antero-lateral direct decompression with trans-thoracic trans-pleural–retroperitoneal approach given the proximity the cord and conus is the most effective method, with inter-vertebral instrumentation with or without lateral fixation or posterior instrumentation.

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Sahat Edison Sitorus

Upper burst fracture of Th12-L1 has unique anatomy because it contains lower spinal cord, medullary cone, and diaphragm which separates between the thoracic and lumbar spine.The presence or absence of neurologic deficit is the single most important factor in the decision making. The presence of profound but incomplete neural deficit in association with canal compromise represents an urgent indication of surgical decompression. Antero-lateral direct decompression with trans-thoracic trans-pleural–retroperitoneal approach given the proximity the cord and conus is the most effective method, with inter-vertebral instrumentation with or without lateral fixation or posterior instrumentation. 


Author(s):  
George M. Wahba ◽  
Nitin N. Bhatia ◽  
Thay Q. Lee

Unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures are serious injuries and their management remains controversial. Some authors advocate the use of short-segment posterior instrumentation (SSPI) for certain burst fractures which offers several benefits including preservation of motion segments; however, clinical studies have shown mixed results. Whether crosslinks contribute sufficient stability to this construct has not been determined, therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical characteristics of short-segment posterior instrumentation, with and without crosslinks, in an unstable human burst fracture model.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mayer ◽  
R. Ortmaier ◽  
H. Koller ◽  
J. Koller ◽  
W. Hitzl ◽  
...  

Objective. Long-term radiological and clinical outcome retrospective study of surgical treatment for T12 and L1 burst fractures in perspective of sagittal balance measures.Methods. Patients with age of 16–60 years, complete radiographs, early surgical treatment surgery, and follow-up (F/U) > 18 months were included and strict exclusion criteria applied. Regional and thoracolumbar kyphosis angles (RKA and TLA) were measured preoperatively and at final F/U, as were parameters of the spinopelvic sagittal alignment. Clinical outcomes were assessed using validated measures.Results. 36 patients with age mean age of 39 years and F/U of 69 months were included. 61% of patients were treated with bisegmental posterior instrumentation (POST-I) and 39% with combined posteroanterior instrumented fusion (PA-F). At F/U, several indicators for clinical outcomes showed a significant correlation with radiographic measures in the overall cohort with inferior clinical outcomes corresponding with increasing residual deformity and sagittal malalignment. Statistical analysis failed to reach level of significance for the differences between POST-I and PA-F group at final F/U. Only a strong trend towards better restoration of the thoracolumbar alignment was observed for the PA-F group in terms of the RKA and TLA.Conclusions. Results in a surgically treated cohort of T12 and L1 burst fracture patients indicate that superior clinical outcomes depend on restoration of sagittal alignment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 219256822098412
Author(s):  
Abhinandan Reddy Mallepally ◽  
Nandan Marathe ◽  
Abhinav Kumar Shrivastava ◽  
Vikas Tandon ◽  
Harvinder Singh Chhabra

Study Design: Retrospective observational. Objectives: This study aimed to document the safety and efficacy of lumbar corpectomy with reconstruction of anterior column through posterior-only approach in complete burst fractures. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed complete lumbar burst fractures treated with corpectomy through posterior only approach between 2014 and 2018. Clinical and intraoperative data including pre and post-operative neurology as per the ISNCSCI grade, VAS score, operative time, blood loss and radiological parameters, including pre and post-surgery kyphosis, height loss and canal compromise was assessed. Results: A total of 45 patients, with a mean age of 38.89 and a TLICS score 5 or more were analyzed. Preoperative VAS was 7-10. Mean operating time was 219.56 ± 30.15 minutes. Mean blood loss was 1280 ± 224.21 ml. 23 patients underwent short segment fixation and 22 underwent long segment fixation. There was no deterioration in post-operative neurological status in any patient. At follow-up, the VAS score was in the range of 1-3. The difference in preoperative kyphosis and immediate post-operative deformity correction, preoperative loss of height in vertebra and immediate post-operative correction in height were significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The posterior-only approach is safe, efficient, and provides rigid posterior stabilization, 360° neural decompression, and anterior reconstruction without the need for the anterior approach and its possible approach-related morbidity. We achieved good results with an all posterior approach in 45 patients of lumbar burst fracture (LBF) which is the largest series of this nature.


2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Yi-Loong Woon ◽  
Benedict Chan-Wearn Peng ◽  
John Li-Tat Chen

Spontaneous spinal epidural haematomas (SSEHs) are rare causes of spinal cord compression. We present 2 cases of thoracic SSEHs with similar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features. Patient 1 was on long-term oral anticoagulants and patient 2 had uncontrolled hypertension. Patient 1 presented with a dense motor deficit, whereas patient 2 developed progressive lower limb weakness. Decompression laminectomy and haematoma evacuation was performed 51 hours later for patient 1 and 14 hours later for patient 2. Both had recovered their lower limb power, but neurological recovery was greater for patient 2. In patients with bleeding diatheses or uncontrolled hypertension, acute SSEHs must be suspected when they present with atraumatic back pain and signs of spinal cord compression. The interval to surgical decompression greatly influences the prognosis for neurological recovery.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Qingfu Zhang ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Quanhong Zhou ◽  
Guangyan Wang ◽  
Linlin Zhao

Paraplegia is a rare postoperative complication. We present a case of acute paraplegia after elective gastrectomy surgery because of cervical disc herniation. The 73-year-old man has the medical history of cervical spondylitis with only symptom of temporary pain in neck and shoulder. Although the patient’s neck was cautiously preserved by using the Discopo, an acute paraplegia emerged at about 10 hours after the operation. Severe compression of the spinal cord by herniation of the C4-C5 cervical disc was diagnosed and emergency surgical decompression was performed immediately. Unfortunately the patient showed limited improvement in neurologic deficits even after 11 months.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharad Rajpal ◽  
Krisada Chanbusarakum ◽  
Praveen R. Deshmukh

✓Myelopathy caused by a spinal cord infection is typically related to an adjacent compressive lesion such as an epidural abscess. The authors report a case of progressive high cervical myelopathy from spinal cord tethering caused by arachnoiditis related to an adjacent C-2 osteomyelitis. This 70-year-old woman initially presented with a methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis involving the C-2 odontoid process. She was treated with appropriate antibiotic therapy but, over the course of 4 weeks, she developed progressive quadriparesis. A magnetic resonance image revealed near-complete resolution of the C-2 osteomyelitis, but new ventral tethering of the cord was observed at the level of the odontoid tip. She subsequently underwent open surgical decompression and cord detethering. Postoperatively she experienced improvement in her symptoms and deficits, which continued to improve 1 year after her surgery. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of progressive upper cervical myelopathy due to arachnoiditis and cord tethering from an adjacent methicillin-sensitive S. aureus C-2 osteomyelitis.


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