Surgical treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.
Journal Article (Journal Article;Review)
Many studies indicate that spinal canal decompression and stabilization lead to improved neurologic recovery in patients with incomplete neurologic deficits. It is recognized that surgical stabilization of unstable thoracolumbar injuries with complete neurologic deficit or without deficit reduces hospital stay, improves spinal alignment, shortens rehabilitation, and results in fewer medical complications. Unfortunately, many aspects of management remain controversial. For many injuries, more than one treatment method has been shown to be efficacious, although certain injuries have improved outcome with specific treatment modalities. This article is an overview of indications for surgery, operative approaches, types of instrumentation, and treatment options for specific thoracolumbar injuries.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Shaffrey, CI; Shaffrey, ME; Whitehill, R; Nockels, RP
Published Date
- October 1997
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 8 / 4
Start / End Page
- 519 - 540
PubMed ID
- 9314520
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1042-3680
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States