Effectiveness of short segment pedicle screw fixation plus pecutaneous vertebroplasty for treatment of single thoracolumbar fracture with Kümmell disease

Objective To study the surgical indications and effectiveness of short segment pedicle screw fixation plus pecutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for single thoracolumbar fracture combined with Kummell disease. Methods Between June 2012 and June 2014, a prospective case series analysis was made on the clinical data of 15 selected cases of single thoracolumbar fracture patients who were combined with Kummell disease. There were three males and 12 females, with an average age of 62.5 years(range, 48-80 years). The injured vertebrae were located at T11in 3 cases, at T12in 4, at L1 in 5 and at L2 in 3. All the patients were treated by short segment fixation plus PVP. Operative time, surgery-related complications and adjacent vertebral fracture during follow-up were recorded. The effectiveness of the treatment was appraised by visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Cobb angle of operative segment, which were recorded preoperatively, one week post-operatively and at final follow-up. One-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) was employed for statistical analysis. Results The operative time was 0.8-2 hours (mean, 1.35 hour). There was no observation of incision infection, nerve injury, cement leakage or other related operative complications. A total of 15 patients were followed up for 16-36 months (mean, 22.4 months), which showed solid fusion and bone bridges in all patients, with no fracture of adjacent vertebra observed. VAS was improved from preoperative (5.93±0.62)points to(1.80±0.64)points one week postoperativelyand (2.60±0.53)points at final follow-up. ODI was improved from preoperative 61.53±4.30 to 19.93±3.26 one week postoperatively and 23.07±4.06 at final follow-up. Cobb angle of operative segment was improved from preoperative (17.40±6.73)° to (9.53±3.12)° one week postoperatively and (11.00±3.20)° at final follow-up. There was significant difference of all the indexes namely, VAS, ODI and Cobb angle, between preoperative and one week postoperative status as well as between preoperative and final follow-up (P 0.05). Conclusion For single thoracolumbar fracture with Kummell disease, short segment fixation plus PVP can shorten the surgery time, reduce the rate of complications, relieve pain, recover the function and avoid loss of kyphosis correction, as is worthy of clinical recommendation. Key words: Spinal fractures; Osteoporosis; Internal fixators; Vertebroplasty