[Mechanical principle and clinical application of the combined spinal rod-plate and transpedicular screws fixation...

Twenty-one patients with unstable burst fractures of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine were treated with a combined spinal rod-plate and transpedicular screws (CSRP-TPS) fixation system. This system is a new device for disorders of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine. In treatment of spinal fractures, it provided three-column axial distraction and stabilized the injured vertebra in a lordotic position-this maximized the reduction and indirectly achieved a neurologic decompression by ligamentotaxis. This "indirect" neurologic decompression was more successful in cases treated early after injury as the spinal canal area (measured by pre- and postoperative CT) increased 35% in cases treated within one week after injury; 25% in cases treated 7-14 days after injury; and there was little improvement in cases treated more than two weeks following injury. All patients had a minimum follow-up of 12 months. There were no infections, iatrogenic neurologic deficits or instrumentation failures. The CSRP-TPS system gave more improved results over conventional Harrington and segmental spinal instrumentation systems and only required fixation and fusion of three vertebral levels.