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Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Minimally Invasive Treatment for Thoracolumbar Burst Fracture Using Sagittal Alignment Screws and A Trauma Reduction Device
Published on: November 8, 2024
Management of a high thoracic chance fracture
Anouar Bourghli1, Ibrahim Obeid2, Louis Boissiere2
1Orthopedic and Spinal Surgery Department, Kingdom Hospital, P.O.Box 84400, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia. anouar.bourghli@gmail.com.
Purpose:
Chance fracture of the high thoracic spine is rare, and its impact on the adjacent cervical spine can be important.
Methods:
We present the case of a 16-year-old male, who fell down from a 2 m height, in an unknown context as he has a mental retardation, and no witness saw the accident. Initial CT scan revealed a comminuted depressed fracture of the right parietal bone, associated with a chance fracture at the level of T3 with a kyphosis and bilateral lung contusion.
Results:
The patient underwent neurosurgical treatment for elevation and reconstruction of the parietal fracture; he also underwent, 2 days later, a posterior spinal correction and fusion with T1-to-T5 instrumentation. The patient returned to normal walking on day 7 with a satisfactory clinical and radiological result at 1 year.
Conclusion:
Literature is sparse on the treatment of high thoracic chance fractures. The current case shows that early surgical management should prevent a secondary kyphotic deformity that may need a more aggressive treatment at a later stage.
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