Anterior instrumentation for the treatment of spinal tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Kyphosis and neurological impairment are the major residual problems of spinal tuberculosis after the microorganism has been eradicated with use of appropriate medications. Spinal instrumentation is needed to support anterior strut grafts in patients who have kyphosis that affects more than two levels. Most surgeons use posterior instrumentation. Anterior instrumentation, despite its advantages, has not been widely accepted, partly because of concerns about introducing foreign material into infected tissue. The purpose of the current study was to address those concerns. METHODS: Twenty-two patients who had tuberculosis of the spine with moderate-to-severe localized kyphosis and sixteen patients who had more than two involved levels had stabilization with anterior instrumentation. Antituberculous medication was used postoperatively according to a standardized regimen. The patients were followed to determine if there was any recurrence of the disease and if the correction had been maintained. RESULTS: The twenty-two patients who had involvement of one or two levels had an average correction of the deformity of 64 percent (range, 58 to 90 percent), and the sixteen patients who had more than two levels of involvement had an average correction of 81 percent (range, 75 to 97 percent). The correction was maintained in twenty-one patients, the maximum loss was 3 degrees in sixteen, and one patient died on the second postoperative day. There was no recurrence of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that anterior instrumentation is more effective than posterior instrumentation for reducing the deformity and stabilizing the vertebral column in patients who have kyphosis related to tuberculosis of the spine.

Effect on knee disarticulation on bone growth in immature rabbits.

This study was designed by the University of Ankara Experimental and Research Laboratory for animals in 1997. In the study an anteroposterior skin flap technique was used for 20 knee disarticulation amputations and also in 20 trans-femoral amputations on immature rabbits, in order to investigate their effects on the femoral epiphyseal growth plate. The femurs of the rabbits were observed radiographically for 8 weeks. It was observed that the femurs tended to grow at a slower rate compared to the normal contralateral femur. These studies showed that the disarticulated limb femurs grew 0.68 cm shorter on average compared to the contralateral femurs and the femurs in the trans-femoral amputated limbs 3.58 cm shorter on average compared to the contralateral ones. These results were found to be statistically significant.

[A new technic in the surgical treatment of congenital hip dislocation]. / Eine neue Technik bei der operativen Behandlung der angeborenen Hüftluxation.

A new technic has been developed on the surgery of congenital hip dislocation. The properties of the technic and the majority of the operation are explained.

Prevention of postoperative late kyphosis in Pott's disease by anterior decompression and intervertebral grafting.

A total of 185 patients with Pott's disease were operated on between 1973 and 1992. Anterior decompression by preserving the pleura (extrapleural approach) was the preferred method in the thoracic spine. In the lumbar spine the approach was retroperitoneal, and interbody fusion was performed in both for the thoracic and the lumbar regions. Anterior decompression and intervertebral grafting comprised the treatment. In five patients, internal fixation accompanied anterior decompression and intervertebral grafting. The aim of instrumentation was to enhance anterior spinal stability, and Alici spinal instrumentation was the preferred device. Graft destruction and a late increase in kyphosis was prevented by this means. The mean follow-up period was 7.5 years. Thirty-two of the cases were admitted to the clinic because of Pott's paraplegia: 19 of the cases recovered completely following anterior decompression; partial recovery was observed in 5 cases; but 3 cases did not recover. Various complications, including seven deaths, were observed in 42 of the cases.

Pott's disease and extrapleural anterior decompression. Results of 108 consecutive cases.

Between 1973 and 1988, 108 patients with a preoperative diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis were treated by anterior extirpation and interbody fusion at Ankara University Medical Faculty, Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology Department. In 96 cases the operations were performed intrapleurally, as Hogston described. For 12 patients who had spinal involvement at lower thoracic and upper lumbar segments an extrapleural and extraperitoneal approach was used. The extrapleural approach is strongly recommended for patients who have compromised pulmonary reserve. When this approach is used adequate exposure can be obtained and postoperative rehabilitation of patients is facilitated. Advantages and disadvantages of the extrapleural approach and the results obtained from 108 patients are presented.