Fifteen cases of unstable fracture-dislocation of the thoracolumbar spine have been treated by open reduction, short segment transpedicular fixation and fusion in Universiti Unit, Kuala Lumpur Hospital from January 1994 until December 1997. Twelve male and three female patients were injured; their age ranged from 18 to 45 years. Five fracture-dislocations occurred in the lower thoracic spine (T8 to T11), eight at the thoracolumbar junction (T12 to L2) and two in the lumbar spine (L3 to L5). All the patients had neurological deficit. Seven patients with incomplete or cauda equina lesions regained some neural function, while all eight with complete lesions remained unchanged. Ten of the fifteen cases were grossly unstable and translated beyond 50% of the width of the spinal column. At the time of follow up (more than one year in all patients), no loss of reduction or of fixation was noted in any patient. Solid fusion was achieved in all patients. The advantages of this method of treatment include stable fixation, with maintenance of sagittal and coronal spinal alignments, to allow early rehabilitation.
From January 1994 to January 1998, 26 patients of unstable thoracolumbar burst fracture were treated by a short segment posterior instrumentation (pedicular screw plate/rod system), reduction and fusion in Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital. Majority of them were young and in a productive age group (mean age were 30 year-old). The mean duration of follow-up was 24.4 months. The injuries were caused by fall from height (69%) and motor vehicle accident (31%). Most of the fracture occurred at 1st and 2nd lumbar vertebrae (24/26). Twelve of the patients did not have neurological deficits. Out of 14 patients with neurological deficits, 64.4% of them showed an improvement of at least one Frankel's grade. There was no defect correlation between canal compromise and neurological deficit. Kyphotic angle improved from 20 degrees to 7 degrees immediately after surgery. In the last follow-up average kyphotic angle was 9 degrees with average lost of 2 degrees. The average length of hospitalization following surgery was 24 days. A posterolateral bony fusion was achieved in all cases at an average of 3 months. Complication included 2 loosening and 3 misplacement of pedicle screw fixation. We concluded that short-segment fixation with posterolateral decompression and fusion is effective in the treatment of unstable thoracolumbar burst fracture.
Fracture-dislocation of the lumbo-sacral spine was an unusual injury and was divided into anterior, posterior and lateral types depending on the displacement of the cephalad portion of the spine over the caudal portion. According to the authors' knowledge, only 31 cases of traumatic fracture-dislocation of the lumbo-sacral spine were reported in the English literature. Only 3 previous reports referred to this injury with a posterior displacement, which was an even rarer injury. This was the fourth report of this type of injury.
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of diffusion weighted MR imaging (DWI) in the differentiation and characterisation between benign and malignant vertebral compression fractures compared with conventional T1 WI, T2 WI and fat suppressed contrast enhanced T1 WI in the Malaysian population.
To measure the diameter of the odontoid process in a Malaysian population using computed tomographic (CT) scan and determine the feasibility of treating type-II odontoid fractures using 2 cortical screws.
U-shaped sacral fracture is a very rare injury. This injury is easily missed and the diagnosis is often delayed as it is difficult to detect on the anteroposterior view of the pelvic radiograph. It is highly unstable and neurological injury is common. Two cases of U-shaped sacral fractures are reported here in which the diagnosis was delayed resulting in the late development of cauda equina syndrome. In these two cases, full recoveries were achieved following surgical decompression. A high index of suspicion with proper clinical and radiographic assessments will decrease the incidence of missed diagnosis and prevent the occurrence of delayed neurological deficits.
Chance fracture is an unstable vertebral fracture, which usually results from a high velocity injury. An elderly lady with a previously healed osteoporotic fracture of the T12 and L1 vertebra which resulted in a severe kyphotic deformity subsequently sustained a Chance fracture of the adjacent L2 vertebrae after a minor fall. The previously fracture left her with a deformity which resulted in significant sagittal imbalance therefore predisposing her to this fracture. This case highlights the importance of aggressive treatment of osteoporotic fractures in order to prevent significant sagittal imbalance from resultant (i.e. kyphotic) deformity.
Background: To assess the effect of cement vertebroplasty on the activity of daily living of elderly patients who have sustained a vertebral osteoporotic fracture.
Patients and Methods: Seven patients with clinically significant and radiologically proven osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures suitable to be treated with percutaneous cement vertebroplasty were recruited. Evaluation was based on pre- and postprocedure activity by clinical documentation (including interview) and by a self-developed questionnaire (including quality of life).
Results: Following the procedure, 54% of patients resumed their activities of daily living with minimal pain while 46% of patients were able to do so without any pain (p
Objectives: To study the prevalence and the risk factors for surgical site infection in patients who underwent posterior instrumented surgery for thoracolumbar burst fractures. Methodology: Retrospective review of cases operated between year 2006 and 2007. The final end point is the detection of surgical site infection within one year. Results: A total of 38 cases were reviewed. Surgical site infection occurred in 5 cases. Only one had deep infection. The onset of infection occurred within one month in all cases. The risk factors studied were smoking, timing of surgery, duration of surgery, neurological deficit, associated injuries and high dose methylprednisolone administration. None of them were statistically significant as risk factors for surgical site infection. Conclusion: The prevalence of surgical site infection in patients who underwent posterior instrumented surgery for thoracolumbar burst fractures was 13%.
The objective of this cadaveric study is to determine the safety and outcome of thoracic pedicle screw placement in Asians using the funnel technique. Pedicle screws have superior biomechanical as well as clinical data when compared to other methods of instrumentation. However, misplacement in the thoracic spine can result in major neurological implications. There is great variability of the thoracic pedicle morphometry between the Western and the Asian population. The feasibility of thoracic pedicle screw insertion in Asians has not been fully elucidated yet. A pre-insertion radiograph was performed and surgeons were blinded to the morphometry of the thoracic pedicles. 240 pedicle screws were inserted in ten Asian cadavers from T1 to T12 using the funnel technique. 5.0 mm screws were used from T1 to T6 while 6.0 mm screws were used from T7 to T12. Perforations were detected by direct visualization via a wide laminectomy. The narrowest pedicles are found between T3 and T6. T5 pedicle width is smallest measuring 4.1 +/- 1.3 mm. There were 24 (10.0%) Grade 1 perforations and only 1 (0.4%) Grade 2 perforation. Grade 2 or worse perforation is considered significant perforation which would threaten the neural structures. There were twice as many lateral and inferior perforations compared to medial perforations. 48.0% of the perforations occurred at T1, T2 and T3 pedicles. Pedicle fracture occurred in 10.4% of pedicles. Intra-operatively, the absence of funnel was found in 24.5% of pedicles. In conclusion, thoracic pedicle screws using 5.0 mm at T1-T6 and 6.0 mm at T7-T12 can be inserted safely in Asian cadavers using the funnel technique despite having smaller thoracic pedicle morphometry.
Transverse sacral fracture is a very rare injury and frequently missed or delayed in diagnosis. We present a case with this injury and discuss its management.
Unstable spine fractures commonly occur in the setting of a polytraumatized patient. The aim of management is to balance the need for early operative stabilization and prevent additional trauma due to the surgery. Recent published literature has demonstrated the benefits of early stabilization of an unstable spine fracture particularly in patients with higher injury severity score (ISS). We report two cases of polytrauma with unstable spine fractures stabilized with a minimally invasive percutaneous pedicle screw instrumentation system as a form of damage control surgery. The patients had good recovery from the polytrauma injuries. These two cases illustrate the role of minimally invasive stabilization, its limitations and technical pitfalls in the management of unstable spine fractures in the polytrauma setting as a form of damage control surgery.
Posterior instrumentation is a common fixation method used to treat thoracolumbar burst fractures. However, the role of different cross-link configurations in improving fixation stability in these fractures has not been established. A 3D finite element model of T11-L3 was used to investigate the biomechanical behavior of short (2 level) and long (4 level) segmental spine pedicle screw fixation with various cross-links to treat a hypothetical L1 vertebra burst fracture. Three types of cross-link configurations with an applied moment of 7.5 Nm and 200 N axial force were evaluated. The long construct was stiffer than the short construct irrespective of whether the cross-links were used (p < 0.05). The short constructs showed no significant differences between the cross-link configurations. The XL cross-link provided the highest stiffness and was 14.9% stiffer than the one without a cross-link. The long construct resulted in reduced stress to the adjacent vertebral bodies and screw necks, with 66.7% reduction in bending stress on L2 when the XL cross-link was used. Thus, the stability for L1 burst fracture fixation was best achieved by using long segmental posterior instrumentation constructs and an XL cross-link configuration. Cross-links did not improved stability when a short structure was used.
PURPOSE:
Osteoporotic fracture is the main complication of osteoporosis. The current management is to discharge patients as early as possible so they can get back to their daily activities. Once discharged, there are three main issues relating to morbidity, mortality, and risk of a subsequent fracture that need to be addressed and discussed. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to summarize and evaluate the evidence from published literature, to determine the outcome of osteoporotic fracture patients after their hospital discharge.
METHODS:
The MEDLINE and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases were searched, using the terms "osteoporosis", "fracture", "osteoporotic fracture", "hip fracture", and "vertebral fracture". We included only human studies published in English between 2004 and 2014. The reference lists of included studies were thoroughly reviewed in search for other relevant studies.
RESULTS:
A total of 18 studies met the selection criteria. Most were observational and cohort studies. Out of all the studies, five studies looked into the morbidity, six studies looked into the risk of subsequent fractures, and seven studies looked into mortality. Vertebral fracture caused the greatest health burden, but hip fracture patients were the main users of informal care after hospital discharge. There was an increased risk of a subsequent fracture after a primary fracture compared with the control group, a cohort comparison, or the general population. Osteoporotic fractures, especially hip fractures, are associated with higher mortality rate despite the advances in the management of osteoporotic fracture cases.
CONCLUSION:
There is strong evidence to show that after hospital discharge, osteoporotic fracture patients are faced with higher morbidity, subsequent fractures, and mortality.
KEYWORDS:
hip fracture; osteoporosis; vertebral fracture
Full recovery from tetraplegia is uncommon in cervical spine injury. This has not being reported for cervical spine fracture in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis causing spinal epidural hematoma. We report on a case of cervical spine fracture in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis who came with tetraplegia. He underwent a two stage fixation and fusion. He had a complete recovery. Two hours after the operation he regained full strength in all the limbs while in the Intensive Care Unit. He went back to full employment. There are only two other reports in the literature where patients with ankylosing spondylitis and extradural hematoma who underwent treatment within 12 h and recovered completely from tetraparesis and paraplegia respectively. Patient with ankylosing spondylitis has a higher incidence of spinal fracture and extradural hematoma. Good outcome can be achieved by early diagnosis and treatment. This can ensure not only a stable spine, but also a rapid and complete recovery in a tetraplegic patient.
Percutaneous placement of pedicle screws is a well-established technique, however, no studies have compared percutaneous and open placement of screws in the thoracic spine. The aim of this cadaveric study was to compare the accuracy and safety of these techniques at the thoracic spinal level. A total of 288 screws were inserted in 16 (eight cadavers, 144 screws in percutaneous and eight cadavers, 144 screws in open). Pedicle perforations and fractures were documented subsequent to wide laminectomy followed by skeletalisation of the vertebrae. The perforations were classified as grade 0: no perforation, grade 1: < 2 mm perforation, grade 2: 2 mm to 4 mm perforation and grade 3: > 4 mm perforation. In the percutaneous group, the perforation rate was 11.1% with 15 (10.4%) grade 1 and one (0.7%) grade 2 perforations. In the open group, the perforation rate was 8.3% (12 screws) and all were grade 1. This difference was not significant (p = 0.45). There were 19 (13.2%) pedicle fractures in the percutaneous group and 21 (14.6%) in the open group (p = 0.73). In summary, the safety of percutaneous fluoroscopy-guided pedicle screw placement in the thoracic spine between T4 and T12 is similar to that of the conventional open technique.
Ankylosing spinal disorders (ASD) tend to result in fractures and/or dislocations after minor trauma because of the altered biomechanical properties. The relative risk of traumatic vertebral fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis has been estimated as three times higher than in the general population. These spine traumas, which are located at cervical level in 81% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis, are complicated by neurological lesions in 65% of patients, due to the high inherent instability of these fractures. Traditional massage is an ancient practice in many parts of Asia. It has many benefits that are currently recognized world-wide. However, it can be dangerous and even lethal if practised without adequate knowledge and skill. We report a case of C6-C7 fracture-dislocation with complete neurology and neurogenic shock in a middle aged man with undiagnosed ankylosing spondylitis.
Altered mental status in the setting of polytrauma poses a challenge to the emergency team managing the patient. The tendency to miss positive findings in these circumstances increases several folds due to multiple factors such as depressed mental status/intoxication, presence of distracting injuries and concurrent life-threatening injuries that require more urgent attention. In view of this, NEXUS (National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study) criteria of clearing the cervical spine was adopted and used worldwide. Consensus on clearance of the other parts of spine is still lacking. This case reports highlights the findings in a 18-yrs-old male who presented with altered mental status, facial pain and abrasion, following a motor vehicle accident. Facial bone fracture was diagnosed and he was discharged. Three days later, he came with severe epigastric pain. Tenderness on palpation was noted at the spine and Computed Tomography (CT) scan was done. Multiple thoracic vertebra fractures were seen. As a conclusion, thorough primary and secondary survey should be done in patients who have regained full consciousness prior to discharge in order to avoid overlooking other serious injuries.
Keywords: altered, CT scan, fracture, mental status, thoracic vertebra