title: Surgical management by one-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation for lumbo-sacral tuberculosis in the aged.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the clinical study efficacy and feasibility of 17 aged patients with lumbo-sacral tuberculosis treated by one-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation.
  
  
  METHODS
  17 aged patients who suffered from lumbo-sacral tuberculosis were admitted into our hospital between March 2003 and October 2010. All of them were treated by one-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation. Then the clinical efficacy with statistical analysis was evaluated based on the materials on the lumbo-sacral angle, neurological status that was recorded by Frankel grade system, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), which were collected at certain time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average follow-up period was 47.5 ± 17.1 months (17-71 months), In the 17 cases, no postoperative complications related to instrumentation occurred and neurologic function was improved in various degrees. The mean preoperative lumbo-sacral angle was 20.5° ± 1.7° (range 18.0°-23.0°). The lumbo-sacral angle became 29.1° ± 1.5° (range 26.4°-31.0°) postoperatively. The average pretreatment ESR was 57.4 ± 16.8 mm/h (33-95 mm/h), which got normal (9.2 ± 3.1 mm/h) within 3 months in all patients. All patients got bony fusion within 6-8 months after surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation can be an effective treatment method for the treatment of lumbo-sacral tuberculosis in the aged patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Xiangya Road 87, ChangSha 410008, China. zhq9996@163.com
authors.forename: Hong-qi
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Min-zhong
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Jin-song
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jian-huang
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jin-yang
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003646:Debridement / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D014399:Tuberculosis, Spinal / Q000601:surgery*