Short-term clinical effects of short-segment internal fixation of severe instable thoracolumbar spine fracture through the pedicle of fractured vertebral arch
YIN shi
ZHU Xing-yuan
TIAN Shun-lin
LIU Xiao-dong
ZHANG Zhi-yong
NI Xiao-hui
Abstract：Objective To evaluate the short-term clinical results of short-segment internal fixation of severe instable thoracolumbar spine fracture through the pedicle of fractured vertebral arch. Methods Fourty-two patients ( 31 males and 11 females ) from September 2013 to March 2015 were involved in our retrospective investigation. The mean age was 41.2 years old ( range: 27 - 55 years ). Injury causes: 22 cases were of traffic accident, 14 cases of falling in height and 6 cases of heavy weight. Fractured vertebrae: T11 in 4 cases, T12 in 13 cases, L1 in 16 cases and L2 in 9 cases. Denis classification: 15 cases were of type A, 24 cases type B, 2 cases type D and 1 case type E. Load-sharing scoring system was used to evaluate all the patients postoperatively, and the scores were no less than 7. Anterior margin height of the fractured vertebra, Cobb's angle, visual analog score ( VAS ), Oswestry disability index ( ODI ) and postoperative complications were observed. Results All patients were followed up prospectively for an average of 11.6 months ( range: 8 - 26 months ). Among the 42 patients who finished the follow-up, 4 patients with incision infection recovered gradually by frequent dressing changes in 4 weeks post-operation. There were no complications combining with internal fixation in this group. Anterior margin height of the fractured vertebra recovered from ( 51.0 ± 8.9 ) % to ( 92.0 ± 9.7 ) %, Cobb's angle decreased from ( 36.0 ± 7.4 ) ° to ( 5.9 ± 2.8 ) °, VAS reduced from ( 7.9 ± 1.8 ) to ( 1.6 ± 0.9 ) and the ODI decreased from ( 39.0 ± 6.2 ) to ( 16.0 ± 7.9 ). There were significant differences between pre-operation and post-operation ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusions Short-segment internal fixation of severe instable thoracolumbar spine fracture through the pedicle of fractured vertebral arch can achieve good clinical outcomes with obvious recovery of the vertebra height, better stability of the thoracolumbar spine.
Keywords：Spinal fractureThoracolumbar vertebraShort segment internal fixationFractured vertebral arch
Publication Date：2017-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 737-741 )