[Post-traumatic kyphosis of the truncal vertebrae]

Assessing the initial post-traumatic situation is of imminent importance in choosing the most suitable approach for primary treatment of thoracic and lumbar spine fractures. Misjudging the static situation of the injured spine is a common reason for selecting an inadequate therapeutic procedure. The consequence is a defective spinal position with the corresponding symptoms, which usually requires a complicated surgical procedure. Our experience is based on 34 patients with a post-traumatic defective position of the thoracic and lumbar spine: 12 patients underwent primary surgical and 22 primary conservative treatment. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the initial situation and primary management as well as subsequent problems and the respective surgical procedure applied in our department for correcting and stabilizing the areas involved and to present intermediate results.