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Spinal stability after war missile injuries of the spine
B Splavski1, D Vranković, G Blagus
1Division of Neurosurgery, Osijek University Hospital, Croatia.
Objective:
Spinal stability after surgery for war missile wound to the spine is addressed in this study.
Designs:
A retrospective 4-year analysis of 21 patients.
Material And Methods:
The most common injuries were of the thoracic and lumbar spine. The injuries were frequently associated with the lesions of other organs. We registered extensive initial neurologic deficit in 47.6% of cases. All the patients were treated surgically.
Measurements And Main Results:
A decompressive laminectomy was performed in 80.9% of cases. Internal stabilization after laminectomy was performed in only one patient in our series. None had clinical signs of instability. There were no radiologic signs of postoperative spinal instability found on mean follow-ups of 15 months.
Conclusions:
Wound debridement with or without removal of bony and foreign body fragments from the spinal canal was performed. A laminectomy is considered a method of choice. The spine was not stabilized in most patients because the facet joints were left intact.