title: Impairment of perineal care functions after long fusions of the lumbar spine.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of perineal care impairment after extended thoracolumbar and thoracolumbosacral spinal fusions. Fourteen adult patients with fusions from the thoracic spine to L5 or the sacrum completed a questionnaire regarding their ability to do perineal care. The mean number of vertebral levels fused was 9.5 (range, 6-16 levels) with five patients having spinal fusion to L5 and nine having fusion to the sacrum. Thirty-six percent (five of 14 patients) reported difficulty doing perineal care after fusion. Maintenance of L5-S1 segmental motion did not seem to reduce occurrence of perineal care problems. We think that extended thoracolumbar fusion and thoracolumbosacral fusion can produce postoperative difficulty in doing perineal care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series--no, or historical control group). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bafus
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010502:Perineum; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011788:Quality of Life; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery