Abstract
We investigated the therapeutic results of posterior fusion (fixation) surgery and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for thoracolumbar spine transitional burst fractures with anterior and posterior elements.
The subjects were 12 patients who each underwent surgery on one vertebral body (T11: 1 case: T12: 7 cases; L1: 4 cases) at our hospital between 2004 and 2012. Ten patients were males and two were female; the mean age was 49 (18-69) years. In each cases, the parameters investigated were operation time, intraoperative blood loss, number of days until ambulation, postoperative complications, and period until bone-union.
The mean operation time for posterior surgery was 140 minutes, and mean blood loss was 250 ml. For anterior fusion via VATS, the mean operation time was 246 minutes, mean blood loss was 779 ml, and the mean period until ambulation was 3 days.
While sufficient training is required for VATS, our results suggest that it is a useful and minimally invasive form of surgery.
