title: Surgical management of thoracolumbar spine fractures with incomplete neurologic deficits.
abstract: The results of surgical decompression (SD) in 59 patients with neurologic deficits secondary to thoracic or lumbar fractures were evaluated at a mean of 3.7 years after injury. The purpose was to determine whether SD could be correlated with subsequent neurologic outcome. Follow-up neurologic evaluations showed a greater neurologic improvement in the 20 patients who were treated with anterior spinal SD as compared to the 39 patients who received posterior or lateral SD (88% vs. 64%). The return of normal bowel and bladder control also occurred more frequently in the anteriorly SD group than the posteriorly treated SD group (69% vs. 33%). The inferior results in the posteriorly treated SD group appeared to correlate with a high incidence of bony stenosis as measured on postoperative computed axial tomography.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D014056:Tomography, X-Ray; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed