[Mechanical principle and clinical application of the combined spinal rod-plate and transpedicular screws fixation system].
Twenty-one patients with unstable burst fractures of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine were treated with a combined spinal rod-plate and transpedicular screws (CSRP-TPS) fixation system. This system is a new device for disorders of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine. In treatment of spinal fractures, it provided three-column axial distraction and stabilized the injured vertebra in a lordotic position-this maximized the reduction and indirectly achieved a neurologic decompression by ligamentotaxis. This "indirect" neurologic decompression was more successful in cases treated early after injury as the spinal canal area (measured by pre- and postoperative CT) increased 35% in cases treated within one week after injury; 25% in cases treated 7-14 days after injury; and there was little improvement in cases treated more than two weeks following injury. All patients had a minimum follow-up of 12 months. There were no infections, iatrogenic neurologic deficits or instrumentation failures. The CSRP-TPS system gave more improved results over conventional Harrington and segmental spinal instrumentation systems and only required fixation and fusion of three vertebral levels.
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005260:Female; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*