Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2025
Minimally Invasive Treatment for Thoracolumbar Burst Fracture Using Sagittal Alignment Screws and A Trauma Reduction Device
Published on: November 8, 2024
Thoracolumbar Fractures: Comparing the Effect of Minimally Invasive Versus Open Schanz Screw Techniques on Sagittal
Elie Najjar1, Mostafa Meshneb1, Anish Isapure1
1Spinal Unit, The Centre for Spinal Studies and Surgery (CSSS) Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, GBR.
Study Design:
This is a retrospective comparative cohort study.
Purpose:
This study aims to compare the effects of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and open surgery (OS) on global sagittal alignment (GSA) in surgically managed thoracolumbar fractures.
Overview Of Literature:
The optimal treatment of traumatic thoracolumbar fractures (TLF) remains controversial. Both MIS techniques with polyaxial screws and OS techniques with Schanz screws have gained widespread use. The effect of each technique on the global sagittal alignment has not been reported.
Methods:
From 2014 to 2021, 22 patients with traumatic TLF underwent open posterior stabilization using an open transpedicular Schanz screw-rod construct and were compared to 15 patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery using a polyaxial percutaneous pedicle screw-rod construct. The reported radiological parameters measured on preoperative supine CT scan and immediate postop standing X-ray and on final follow-up whole spine standing X-rays included pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), lumbar lordosis (LL), preoperative segmental kyphosis (Preop-K), immediate post-operative segmental kyphosis (postop-Ki), final post-operative segmental kyphosis (postop-Kf), sagittal-vertica-axis (SVA), and spino-sacral angle (SSA).
Results:
The average age of the OS group was 42.5 years; 5 patients had AO type B, and 17 patients had AO type A (A3 and A4) fractures. The average follow-up was 16.8 months. The average radiological parameters were: PI = 54.9°, PI-LL = 3°, PT = 17.6°, preop-K = 16.2°, postop-Ki = 8.7°, final postop-Kf = 14.3°, SVA = 4.58 cm, and SSA = 101.8°. The average age of the MIS group was 43.4 years; 5 patients had AO type B, and 10 patients had AO type A fractures. The average follow-up was 25 months. The average radiological parameters were as follows: PI = 51°, PI-LL = 8°, PT = 18°, preop-K = 18.4°, postop-Ki = 11.6°, postop-Kf = 14.3°, SVA = 6.4 cm, SSA = 106°.
Conclusion:
The fixation technique did not significantly affect the final correction of the local kyphosis and global spine alignment parameters.
