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We analysed the complications encountered in 102 consecutive patients who had posterolateral lumbosacral fusion performed with transpedicular screw and rod fixation for non-traumatic disorders after a minimum of two years. Of these, 40 had spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, 42 a degenerative disorder, 14 instability after previous laminectomy and decompression, and six pain after nonunion of previous attempts at spinal fusion without internal fixation. There were 75 multilevel and 27 single-level fusions. There were 76 individual complications in 48 patients, and none in the other 54. The complications seen were screw misplacement, coupling failure of the device, wound infection, nonunion, permanent neural injury, and loosening, bending and breakage of screws. Screw breakage or loosening was more common in patients with multilevel fusions (p < 0.001). Screws of 5 mm diameter should not be used for sacral fixation. Forty-six patients had at least one further operation for one or several complications, including 20 fusion procedures for nonunion. The high incidence of complications is a disadvantage of this technically-demanding method.

We analyzed the clinical, vocational and radiologic outcomes of 63 consecutive posterolateral lumbosacral fusions performed with transpedicular fixation. The indication for surgery was long-standing intractable lumbar and/or radiating pain with spondylolysis-olisthesis in 31 cases, degenerative disc disease and/or facet joint arthrosis in 23 cases and pain after laminectomy/decompression in 9 cases. Radiographic union was finally achieved in 30 out of the 63 cases. Fixation device-related complications, such as screw misplacement, breakage, bending and loosening, occurred in 33 cases. 15 patients underwent refusion. 43 patients obtained good pain relief. There was no correlation between bony healing and a good clinical outcome. 28/49 preoperatively employed patients returned to work. There was no correlation between relief of pain and return to work. 20 patients retired on a full disability pension. The clinical results were best in the spondylolysis-olisthesis group. Only 2/15 patients with markedly reduced spondylolisthesis maintained the reduction. In 3 patients, progressive disc degeneration above the level of fusion was observed. We conclude that posterolateral lumbosacral fusion with transpedicular fixation provides a satisfactory clinical outcome in patients with spondylolysis-olisthesis, but the high incidence of complications related to the fixation device in the other indications studied is a serious drawback of the method.

We reviewed 41 working-age adults with lumbosacral spondylarthrosis treated by posterolateral spinal fusion using transpedicular instrumentation. The fusion indication was a long-standing, intractable low-back and/or radiating pain, resistant to conservative treatment, without any radiological evidence or disc herniation or spinal stenosis. All patients were evaluated for their post-treatment employment status. The patients were followed up until they had either returned to work or received a permanent disability pension. Only 15 patients out of 41 returned to work after an average postoperative sick leave of seven months. A proper selection of patients is mandatory when this kind of resource-consuming spinal surgery is practised.

Study Design: This was a prospective, randomized study., Objective: To compare the ability of three methods of internal fixation (Harrington rods, AO internal fixator, posterior segmental fixator) to obtain reduction of intracanal fragments in thoracolumbar vertebral compression burst fractures., Summary of Background Data: Sixty-seven acute thoracolumbar compression burst fractures of T12 or L1 were randomized into three groups that were treated using one of the three methods. Reduction was accomplished indirectly by distraction applied using the fixation device., Methods: The spinal canal encroachment was calculated as a percentage of the estimated pre-injury value from serial transverse computed tomographic scans obtained on admission and immediately after surgery., Results: The median preoperative sagittal encroachment of the spinal canal was 37% (range, 0-90%) of the normal diameter. All three methods of internal fixation produced a spinal canal clearance provided that the patient was operated on within 4 days after trauma. The median postoperative encroachment varied from 13% (range, 0-37%) to 22% (range, 0-37%), the best reduction being attained using Harrington rods and the poorest with the posterior segmental fixator. There was a suggestive statistical significance between these two., Conclusion: The differences in postoperative spinal canal encroachment and ability to obtain spinal canal clearance observed between the devices studied were small. There seems to be no reason to base the choice of the operative method in thoracolumbar fractures on any hypothetical differences in reductive power between Harrington rods and the AO internal fixator.

This study presents the results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) follow-up studies on 14 patients with unstable fractures of T12 or L1. Internal fixation was performed with Harrington rods in eight patients and with transpedicular fixation in six patients. Sixteen intervertebral disks adjacent to the fractured vertebral body in 11 patients showed decreased signal intensity in T2-weighted images. None of the uninjured intervertebral disks showed any detectable signal decrease in T2-weighted images. Temporary fixation of several healthy motion segments of thoracolumbar spine, as is necessary with Harrington instrumentation for 11 months, on average, does not seem to result in an intervertebral disk degeneration detectable on MRI in the patients within a follow-up period of two years.

Of a total of 905 patients with fracture or fracture-dislocation of the thoracolumbar spine admitted from 1969 to 1982, a neurological deficit was present in 334 (37%). All unstable injuries were initially treated by reduction and posterior fusion. In 79 of these patients, an anterolateral decompression was undertaken later because of persistent neurological deficit and radiographic demonstration of encroachment on the spinal canal. One patient died of pulmonary embolism; 78 were reviewed after a mean period of four years. Of these 78 patients 18 made a complete neurological recovery while 53 appeared to have benefited from the procedure; 25 remained unchanged. The best results were obtained in burst fractures at thoracolumbar and lumbar levels when a solitary detached fragment of a vertebral body had been displaced into the spinal canal. These results indicate that anterolateral decompression of the spinal canal should be considered, after careful evaluation, for certain injuries of the spine in which there is severe neural involvement.

The radiographic result was assessed in 76 patients with acute unstable fractures of the thoracic or lumbar spine admitted during the years 1977-1984, and who were managed by early reduction and stabilization using Harrington distraction rods and a three-segmental posterolateral fusion. The radiographs were analyzed for anterior and posterior heights plus sagittal and frontal widths of the fractured vertebral body and the angles of kyphosis and scoliosis of the spine. All the measurements were made at admission, immediately postoperatively, and at the latest follow-up at least 3 months after removal of the rods, which was done as a routine procedure 6-12 months after the accident. The mean follow-up was 29 months. The posterior height and sagittal width of the vertebral bodies were best restored, whereas the initially well-reduced anterior height and the angle of kyphosis often had returned to values close to those seen on admission. The best anatomic restoration was obtained in rotation-dislocation injuries of the thoracic and thoracolumbar spine, and was poorest in burst fractures of the lumbar spine.

A series of 112 patients with acute unstable fractures of the thoracic or lumbar spine managed uniformly by early reduction using Harrington's instrumentation was analysed. The level of injury was T6-T11 in 19, T12-L1 in 67 and L2-L5 in 26 patients. On admission, 28 patients had complete paraplegia corresponding to the level of the lesion, 55 had partial lesions and 29 no neural damage. The policy of management comprised reduction by dual distraction rods and simultaneous short posterolateral fusion as an emergency procedure. Anterior decompression of the spinal canal, if required, was performed subsequently. The duration of the postoperative period in bed was 6 weeks. The rods were removed after 9-12 months. The radiographical result and neurological recovery were assessed after an average personal follow-up for 3.1 years. The height of the fractured vertebra was initially well restored, the mean angle of kyphosis being 14 degrees on admission and 5 degrees immediately postoperatively. However, gradually the fractured vertebral body and the intervertebral discs collapsed slightly and at follow-up the mean angle of kyphosis was 12 degrees. On the other hand, the reduction of the initial sagittal displacement of the fractured vertebral body into the spinal canal, could be maintained and a good anatomical end-result was achieved in most cases. The ultimate radiographical results were better after injuries of the thoracic spine and the thoracolumbar junction than after those of the lumbar spine. Improvement of neural function was seen in 28 patients (34 per cent of those with a deficit). Complications of clinical importance occurred in 29 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)