Morphometric study on the 12th thoracic vertebrae which is most frequently exposed to trauma and the closest vertebra to thoracic aorta.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To describe gender-related differences in the length of the left chord and pedicle at the level of 12th thoracic vertebrae and appropriate length of the screw to be applied so as to decrease the perforation risk of anterior cortex of the corpus and preventable injury of major vascular vessels. METHODS: Axial bone window computed tomography images of T12 vertebral pedicles of 60 patients (30 males and 30 females, age >25 years) without any sign of spinal trauma were obtained and morphometric data were analyzed. RESULTS: Mean ages of the female (n=30) and male (n=30) patients were 32.17±4.24 and 31.70±3.60 years, respectively. The left chord lengths of T12 of the male (38.17±2.54 mm) and female (36.62±2.27 mm) patients were compared and a statistically significant difference was found between these two measurements (p=0.016). A statistically significant difference between the length of the left chord (37.40±2.51) (range, 32-44 mm) and age (31.93±3.91) (range, 25-40 years) and also a moderate degree of correlation were observed (p=0.002), (r=0.401). A statistically significant difference and a moderate degree of correlation were found between the lengths of the left chords (37.40±2.51; range, 32-44 mm) and the left pedicles (12.12±1.34; range, 10.0-15.80 mm) (p=0.001), (r=0.577). CONCLUSION: Significant differences and correlations exist between the left pedicle and the left chord in male and female patients and patients with different ages. The data obtained can be used as a guide to determine the implant size and intraoperative management of T12 vertebral pedicle.