Efficacy of Non-Fusion Surgeries in the Management of AO Type C Injuries of the Thoracic and Thoracolumbar Spine: A Retrospective Study.

Background: The initial descriptions of successful management of non-fusion surgeries in the management of unstable burst injuries of the thoracic and thoracolumbar spine (TTLS) were published by Osti in 1987 and Sanderson in 1999. These were further supported by prospective studies and meta-analyses establishing comparable results between fusion and non-fusion surgeries. However, there is a paucity of literature regarding the efficacy of non-fusion surgeries in the management of AO type C injuries. Objective, Materials and Methods: The study aims to determine the efficacy of open posterior instrumented stabilization without fusion in AO type C injuries of the TTLS. Patients with AO type C injuries of the TTLS (T4-L2 levels) with normal neurology who underwent open, posterior, long segment instrumented stabilization without fusion between January 2015 and June 2018 were included. The regional kyphotic angle, local kyphotic angle, AP (anterior and posterior wall) ratio, and cumulative loss of disc space angle were assessed on radiographs. Functional outcome was assessed using Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the AO Spine patient-reported outcome spine trauma (PROST) instrument. Results and Conclusion: The study included 35 patients with AO type C injury of the TTLS and a normal neurology who underwent open posterior instrumented stabilization and had a mean follow-up of 43.2 months (range 24-60 months). The mean preoperative regional kyphotic angle decreased from 19.8 ± 13.7° to 6.6 ± 11.3° after surgery but showed an increase to 9.21 ± 10.5° at final follow-up (P = 0.003). The cumulative loss of disc space angle was significant at final follow-up (2.4 ± 5° [P = 0.002]). Twenty-eight out of 35 patients had minimal while seven had moderate disability on the ODI score. The AO Spine PROST revealed that patients regained 95.7 ± 4.2% of their pre-injury functional status at final follow-up. Posterior instrumented stabilization without fusion in the management of AO type C injuries of the TTLS gives satisfactory results with acceptable functional and radiological outcomes.

A Levering Technique Using Small Parallel Rods for Open Reduction of High-Grade Thoracolumbar Dislocation.

STUDY DESIGN: Technical report. OBJECTIVE: Dorsolumbar vertebral dislocations, with or without associated fractures, occur secondary to very high velocity trauma. The reduction procedures and techniques, which may be adopted in these situations, have been multifariously discussed in the literature. Our objective was to assess the outcome of a novel reduction maneuver, using parallel rods which we have employed in reduction of high-grade thoracolumbar fractures to achieve precise sagittal balance as well as accurate vertebral alignment with minimal soft tissue damage. METHODS: The study included a total of 11 cases of thoracolumbar dislocations, who had presented to our emergency spine services following high-velocity trauma. After appropriate systemic stabilization and necessary investigations, all patients were surgically treated using the described technique. RESULTS: There were no surgical complications at 2-year follow-up. Radiographs showed good reduction and maintained sagittal balance. CONCLUSION: We believe that this technique is an excellent means of achieving safer, easier, and accurate reduction for restoration of sagittal/coronal balance and alignment in high-grade thoracolumbar dislocations. It is easily reproducible and predictable.

Clinical and radiological factors related to the presence of motor deficit in lumbar disc prolapse: a prospective analysis of 70 consecutive cases with neurological deficit.

PURPOSE: To analyse the clinic-radiological factors associated with neurological deficit following lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional study was performed in 140 cases of micro-discectomy following lumbar disc herniation. Group 1 included 70 consecutive patients with motor deficit and group 2 (controls) included 70 patients with intact neurology. Motor deficit was defined as the occurrence of motor power ≤3/5 in L2-S1 myotomes. Multiple clinical and radiological parameters were studied between the two groups. RESULTS: Patients with diabetes (p 0.004), acute onset of symptoms (p 0.036), L3-4 discs (p 0.001), sequestrated discs (p 0.004), superiorly migrated discs (p 0.012) and central discs (p 0.004), greater antero-posterior disc dimension (p 0.023), primary canal stenosis (p 0.0001); and greater canal compromise (p 0.002) had a significant correlation with the development of neurological deficit. The presence of four or more of these risk factors showed a higher chance of the presence of motor deficit (sensitivity of 74%, specificity of 77%). Age, sex, previous precipitating events, severity of pain, smoking, and number of herniations levels did not affect the occurrence of deficit (p > 0.05 for all). Patients with or without bladder symptoms were similar with respect to all clinico-radiological parameters. However, the time delay since the occurrence of deficit was significantly shorter in patients with bladder involvement (p 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with diabetes, acute presentation, central, sequestrated and superiorly migrated discs, high lumbar disc prolapse, and greater spinal canal compromise are predisposed to the presence of motor deficit.

Demographics of Thoracolumbar Fracture in Indian Population Presenting to a Tertiary Level Trauma Centre.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional, observational study. PURPOSE: Spine traumata are devastating injuries, which may result in serious disabilities and dire consequences. The current study involves a detailed analysis and description of patients, who were operated at a tertiary care, urban level 1 Spine Centre in India. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Various studies in literature have discussed the epidemiology and patterns of these injuries in trauma patients. However, literature describing the demographic profile and distribution of these traumata in the Indian population is scarce. METHODS: The current study was conducted as a prospective trial involving patients, who were treated at our Spine Centre in India between July 2009 to December 2012. We studied 92 patients with thoraco-lumbar spine fracture, who were operated with short or long segment posterior stabilization. Epidemiological details, pre- and post-hospitalisation care received and other injury pattern factors were studied. RESULTS: Fall from height (46 patients, 50%) was the most common mechanism observed in the patients. Sixty-three percent injuries belonged to AO type A fractures, while 16.2% and 19.4% of the patients had suffered from AO types B and C injuries, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We identified interesting epidemiological data and prevailing inadequacies in Emergency Spine care management in the study patients. These observations could facilitate implementation of the changes required to improve current standards of patient care.

Iatrogenic aortic pseudoaneurysm following anterior thoracic spine surgery masquerading as chronic infection.

Late vascular complications involving aorta are rare but devastating adversities following anterior thoracic spine operations are present. The current article describes our experience with one such patient who had an iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta, mimicking infection. The patient was treated successfully following concomitant efforts by multidisciplinary experts with shunting. We wish to highlight upon the significance of recognizing the possible sinister consequences of a dangerously prominent spinal implant and the role of a suspicious surgeon in identifying these menacing complications at the right time.

Management of neglected cervical spine dislocation: a study of six cases.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case series of six neglected cervical spine dislocations without neurological deficit, which were managed operatively. METHODS: The study was conducted from August 2010 to December 2011 and cases were selected from the out-patient department of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India. The patients were in the age group of 30 to 50 years. All patients were operated via both anterior and posterior approaches. RESULTS: During the immediate postoperative period, five (83.33%) patients had normal neurological status. One (16.67%) patient who had C5-C6 subluxation developed neurological deficit with sensory loss below C6 level and motor power of 2/5 in the lower limb and 3/5 in the upper limb below C6 level. CONCLUSION: There is no role of skull traction in neglected distractive flexion injuries to cervical spine delayed for more than 3 weeks. Posterior followed by anterior approach saves much time. If both approaches are to be done in the same sitting, there is no need for instrumentation posteriorly. But if staged procedure is planed, posterior stabilization is recommended, as there is a risk of deterioration in neurological status.

Predictors of early outcome in unstable pelvic fractures.

OBJECTIVE: To define the preoperative and intraoperative variables which may affect the immediate postoperative outcome in surgically managed patients with unstable pelvic fractures. METHODS: This study was performed prospectively from January 2009 to June 2011 on 36 consecutive patients admitted to the trauma ward of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, with unstable pelvic injuries. RESULTS: In the present study of 36 patients, 29 were managed surgically. Surgical duration was 2 hours in patients operated on within 1 week and 3.4 hours in those operated on after 1 week. The blood loss was 550 ml when surgery was done after a week, but when done within a week it was 350 ml. The average blood loss through Pfanenstial approach was 360 ml, through posterior approach was 408 ml and through combined approach was 660 ml which was significantly high. CONCLUSION: Anterior approach to the pelvis would cause significantly more amount of blood loss than posterior approach and external fixation. Surgical approaches do not have any influence on the surgical duration or the infection rate. The blood loss significantly increases when the surgical time is more than 1 h. The infection rate is not influenced by the duration of surgery. Presence or absence of associated injuries to the head, chest or abdomen is the main determinants of patient's survival and it greatly influences the duration of hospital stay.

Steroid-induced stress fracture of medial tibial condyle: a case report.

Corticosteroid-induced stress fractures have been described, but such a presentation is rare in tibial condyle where osteonecrosis secondary to steroid use is more common. In this report we describe a case of stress fracture of medial tibial condyle secondary to corticosteroid (glucocorticoid) intake in a 47-year-old man. We discuss in detail the pathogenesis of this condition, and highlight the importance of various diagnostic modalities to avoid misdiagnosis of the condition. We also reiterate the importance of early diagnosis and prompt immobilization to prevent long-term morbidity in such cases.

Axillary artery thrombosis with anteroinferior shoulder dislocation: a rare case report and review of literature.

A very rare and serious complication of shoulder dislocation is a lesion to the axillary artery in the elderly population, whose vascular structures have become less flexible. Axillary artery injury secondary to anteroinferior shoulder dislocation is much rarer, especially in the young people. Proper recognition and treatment of this entity offers a full recovery to the patient. Present report highlights the possibility of axillary artery injury with anteroinferior shoulder dislocation. A few case reports and small case series of this injury have been reviewed. And recommendations for management have been brought up to date, in line with current thinking.

Bilateral psoas abscess: atypical presentation of spinal tuberculosis.

Three patients who came to the surgical outpatient department of 'Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research', Chandigarh, India with features suggestive of acute abdomen are presented. On thorough evaluation, they had bilateral psoas abscess and on detailed investigations, tuberculosis was found to be the etiological factor. They were treated conservatively with good follow-up results. Psoas abscess may be clinically difficult to diagnose because of its rarity, insidious onset of the disease, and non-specific clinical presentation which can cause diagnostic delays resulting in high morbidity. Early diagnosis and appropriate management remains a challenge for clinicians. All three patients presented here have recovered following detailed investigation and appropriate management. The diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis should be considered in patients with vertebral osteomyelitis, psoas abscess, and appropriate risk factors such as a history of previous exposure in both developed and developing countries, as tuberculosis is re-emerging as an important etiological factor in spinal pathologies.

Hip hemiarthroplasty periprosthetic loosening caused by papillary ovarian carcinoma metastasis in a 78-year-old woman: a rare presentation and a literature review.

Hip arthroplasty failure secondary to septic or aseptic loosening is common, but periprosthetic loosening caused by metastasis of a distant primary lesion is unusual and seldom described in the literature. In this report, we present the case of a 78-year-old woman with bipolar hemiarthroplasty implant loosening secondary to metastatic spread of papillary ovarian carcinoma. We also review the literature and describe the factors that could possibly predispose to metastatic seeding in patients with hip arthroplasty. In addition, we highlight the radiologic features that might help differentiate such loosening from other, more common causes at an early stage of presentation.

Role of corticosteroid as a prophylactic measure in fat embolism syndrome: a literature review.

Despite a number of studies on steroid therapy as a prophylactic measure in fat embolism syndrome (FES), there is no universal agreement about its role in this critical situation. The present article attempts to search the available literature, and provides a more lucid picture to the readers on this issue. Seven articles (total 483 patients) were reviewed and analyzed. Total of 223 patients received steroid (methyl prednisolone sodium succinate), while the remaining 260 patients formed the control population. Among these subjects, 9 patients in steroid-receiving group and 60 patients in the control group developed FES (P < 0.05). The lack of uniformities in these studies, variable dose and single-center trial are the principal limitations and confuses the surgeons to have definite conclusion. Large-scale, more uniformly designed, multi-centered, randomized, prospective trials are needed to determine the correct situations and dosage in which steroids provide the maximum benefit (with the least possible risk).

Long term surgical treatment outcome of talar body fracture.

OBJECTIVE: Talar body fractures are rare and have poor treatment outcome. The purpose of this study is to report the long term surgical treatment outcome of closed talar dome fractures. METHODS: Eight closed talar body fractures, treated by open reduction and internal fixation with small fragment cancellous screws and/or Herbert screws in our level I trauma centre were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs of the foot (antero-posterior, lateral and oblique views) and ankle (antero-posterior, lateral and mortise views) were obtained. The patients were followed up both radiologically and functionally (foot function index, FFI) after 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and then annually. RESULTS: There were five crush fractures and three shear fractures (two sagittal shear and one coronal shear), with average follow-up of 5 years. No early complications were noticed in these patients. Late complications included osteoarthrosis of subtalar/ankle joints in six patients and osteonecrosis of talar body in four patients. On functional assessment, mean FFI after 5 years was 104.63 points and worse outcome was noticed in crush injury and coronal shear fractures. Sagittal shear fractures had a good functional and radiological outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Late complications subsequent to surgically treated talar body fractures are inevitable, even though exact reduction and rigid fixation are achieved, thus patients are supposed to be counseled about the adverse outcome. Although crush and coronal shear fractures have poor outcome, sagittal injuries have good prognosis on long term evaluation.

A rare case of bicondylar Hoffa fracture associated with ipsilateral tibial spine avulsion and extensor mechanism disruption.

Intra-articular coronal fractures (Hoffas fractures) of distal femur are rare. Although bicondylar involvement in these fractures has been reported in the literature in association with high velocity traumata, the occurrence of these fractures involving extensor mechanism rupture and avulsion of ipsilateral tibial spine is extremely rare. To our acquaintance, such a fracture pattern has not yet been reported in the literature so far. In this article, we report one such case and discuss the importance of early diagnosis and prompt internal fixation in the management of such cases.We believe that these rare combinations of injuries should be treated aggressively by early open reduction and anatomic rigid internal fixation in order to achieve good recovery of function.

Bilateral pertrochanteric fractures with bilateral patellar fractures with missed medial process fracture of talus in a young adult: a case report and review of literature.

Management of polytrauma patients is one the most difficult and challenging tasks for an orthopaedic surgeon, and it includes different aspects of intervention: emergent resuscitative care, early surgical care, post-operative care and delayed rehabilitative care. We report an interesting case of multiple skeletal injuries with a coexisting pattern of fractures of bilateral patellae with bilateral pertrochanteric fractures of femur with a missed talar fracture following a dashboard type of injury in a road traffic accident. We are not aware of a similar case reported in literature in the past. We highlight the management protocol in such a case and review the available literature regarding such a presentation.

Ipsilateral fracture dislocations of the hip and knee joints with contralateral open fracture of the leg: a rare case and its management principles.

This paper discussed the injury mechanism and management of a patient who had concomitant ipsilateral hip and knee dislocations and contralateral open leg fracture. A 32-year-old man presented with ipsilateral fracture-dislocations of the left hip (Pipkin's type IV) and knee (Moore II) joints and contralateral open fracture of the leg bones after a car accident. After emergency resuscitative measures, the hip joint was reduced and Pipkin's fracture was fixed using Ganz approach with lag screws; knee joint was reduced closely and tibial plateau fracture was stabilized with lateral buttress plate and a transarticular spanning fixator. The open fracture on the other leg was debrided and fixed with an external fixator. There was no instability in both joints after fixation when he was examined under anesthesia. The fractures united after 3 months and the patient had no residual instability of hip and knee. There was no clinical or radiological evidence of osteonecrosis in the hip joint after 6 months. At one-year follow-up, he had satisfactory functional outcome with almost normal range of motion at both joints. Ipsilateral hip and knee dislocations are rare injuries and more caution is needed for early diagnosis. A timely appropriate intervention can provide good functional outcome to the patient in this situation.

Management outcomes in pubic diastasis: our experience with 19 patients.

BACKGROUND: Pubic diastasis, a result of high energy antero-posterior compression (APC) injury, has been managed based on the Young and Burguess classification system. The mode of fixation in APC II injury has, however, been a subject of controversy and some authors have proposed a need to address the issue of partial breach of the posterior pelvic ring elements in these injuries. METHODS: The study included a total of 19 patients with pubic diastasis managed by us from May 2006 to December 2007. There was a single patient with type I APC injury who treated conservatively. Type II APC injuries (13 patients) were treated surgically with symphyseal plating using single anterior/superior plates or double perpendicularly placed plates. Type III injuries (5 patients) in addition underwent posterior fixation using plates or percutaneous sacro-iliac screws. The outcome was assessed clinically (Majeed score) and radiologically. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was for 2.9 years (6 months to 4.5 years). Among the 13 patients with APC II injuries, the clinical scores were excellent in one (7.6%), good in 6 (46.15%), fair in 4 (30.76%) and poor in 2 (15.38%). Radiological scores were excellent in 2 (15.38%), good in 8 (61.53%), fair in 2 (15.38%) and poor in one patient (7.6%). Among the 5 patients with APC III injuries, there were 2 patients each with good (50%) and fair (50%) clinical scores while one patient was lost on long term follow up. The radiological outcomes were also similar in these. Complications included implant failure in 3 patients, postoperative infection in 2 patients, deep venous thrombosis in one patient and bladder herniation in one of the patients with implant failure. CONCLUSIONS: There is no observed dissimilarity in outcomes between isolated anterior and combined symphyseal (perpendicular) plating techniques in APC II injuries. Single anterior symphyseal plating along with posterior stabilisation provides a stable fixation in type III APC injuries. Limited dissection ensuring adequate intactness of rectus sheath is important to avoid long term post-operative complications.

Multiple lumbar transverse process stress fractures as a cause of chronic low back ache in a young fast bowler - a case report.

A rare case of multilevel transverse process stress fractures as a cause of low back ache in a professional cricket player has been presented. The report discusses the possible mechanism of such an injury in a cricket player and also highlights the preventive and therapeutic aspects of management in such patients. The report also stresses upon the need for early identification of such sports related injuries to prevent long term morbidity in the athletes.

Management of idiopathic clubfoot by the Ponseti technique: our experience at a tertiary referral centre.

BACKGROUND: Clubfoot or congenital talipes equinovarus is a common congenital abnormality of uncertain etiology. The purpose of this study was to assess the results of the Ponseti method in India and to investigate the demography of relapse and resistant cases. METHODS: A total of 86 children (146 feet) below 1 year of age who had presented to the paediatric orthopedic outpatient department of our institution between June 2003 and January 2007 with unilateral or bilateral idiopathic clubfoot deformity were included in our study and treated conservatively by use of the Ponseti technique. RESULTS: 128 feet responded to the Ponseti casting technique initially and 18 feet were resistant to the conservative treatment. Of the responsive feet, for 20 feet there was a relapse of the deformity. Evaluation of the results showed that poor compliance with splintage was the most common cause of relapse; delayed presentation and atypical clubfeet resulted in high resistance to this technique. Correction achieved at our centre was 82.18%. This is less than in many recent studies and could be attributed to increased incidence of delayed presentation, poorer compliance, and atypical feet in our population. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the Ponseti technique is recommended for management of clubfoot and strict compliance with splintage is essential to prevent relapses. People of lower socioeconomic status are at high risk of relapse and must be targeted to create awareness among them about the importance of compliance with splintage.