BACKGROUND During the last few years, an increasing number of unstable thoracolumbar fractures, especially in elderly patients, has been treated by dorsal instrumentation combined with a balloon kyphoplasty. This combination provides additional stabilization to the anterior spinal column without any need for a second ventral approach. CASE PRESENTATION We report the case of a 97-year-old male...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of transpedicular screw fixation in neurological recovery and pain control in thoracolumbar junction injuries. METHOD This audit was carried out in the Neurosurgery Department of Postgraduate Medical Institute, Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar from November 2008 to April 2010. Written informed consent was taken from all patients. Detail history, clinica...

Surgical decompression of the spinal canal is presently accepted worldwide as the method of treatment for thoracolumbar burst fractures with neurological deficit in the belief that neurological recovery may be produced or enhanced. Our clinical and laboratory experience, however, indicates that the paralysis occurs at the moment of injury and is not related to the position of the fragments of t...

Treatment of unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures remains controversial. Long-segment pedicle screw constructs may be stiffer and impart greater forces on adjacent segments compared with short-segment constructs, which may affect clinical performance and long-term out come. The purpose of this study was to biomechanically evaluate long-segment posterior pedicle screw fixation (LSPF) vs short-...

The indications for operative treatment and type of stabilization procedures for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fracture remain controversial. As surgical reconstruction for the thoracolumbar burst fracture, both long-segment pedicle screw fixation and short-segment pedicle screw fixation including fractured vertebral body have been used widely. The present study evaluated the efficacy of...

BACKGROUND Traumatic fracture of the spine 'is a serious neurosurgical condition that has serious impact on the patient's quality of life. Thoracolumbar junction is the most common site of spinal injuries. The aims of management of thoracolumbar spinal fractures are to restore vertebral column stability, and to obtain spinal canal decompression. This ultimately leads to early mobilization of th...

BACKGROUND There were higher numbers of tertiary blast injuries from terrorist bombing in southern Thailand. There was no previous report about spinal trauma in tertiary blast injury. MATERIAL AND METHOD Between January 2007 and December 2007, there were 100 Thai military personnel injured in combat and 18 cases were classified to tertiary blast injury (type III). Six patients with spine and ...

Introduction Following a burst fracture, decompressive surgery is often recommended on the basis of imaging alone. There is, however, little evidence that the removal of intra-canal bone fragments is of neurological benefit to the patient (1). Further, there is doubt as to whether the fragment position seen on post-injury CT scans represents the true extent of the occlusion produced during the ...

Surgical decompression of the spinal canal is presently accepted worldwide as the method of treatment for thoracolumbar burst fractures with neurological deficit in the belief that neurological recovery may be produced or enhanced. Our clinical and laboratory experience, however, indicates that the paralysis occurs at the moment of injury and is not related to the position of the fragments of t...