[Fractures of the thoracolumbar spine. Surgical treatment using the Harrington-Luque method]

In the period of 1984-87 five women and 20 men aged 15 to 67, underwent open reduction and stabilization of thoraco-lumbar spine fractures with Harrington or Luque rods, segmental wires and interlaminar bone-chips. Half the patients had complete spinal cord lesions and these remained so. Criteria for instability were based on the three-column concept, the demand for early mobilization (10 days), or progression in neurological deficits. No operative complications nor deterioration in neurological findings occurred. Fusion and stability was obtained in all cases. Incomplete cord lesions and, particularly, cauda equina lesions improved substantially. Open reduction and stabilization in the early postinjury period performed by cooperation between a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon in centres experienced in the treatment of paraplegia is recommended.