European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effect of transpedicular intracorporeal grafting in the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures on canal remodeling.
Short-segment posterior instrumentation for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures has been reported with a high rate of failure. Transpedicular intracorporeal grafting in combination with short-segment instrumentation has been offered as an alternative to prevent failure. However, concern still remains about the potential complication of further canal narrowing or failure of remodeling with this technique. ⋯ Spinal canal narrowing was 38.5+/-18.2% at presentation, 22.1+/-19.8% postoperatively, and it further improved to -2.5+/-16.7% at follow-up, similar for both groups. Our results demonstrate that transpedicular intracorporeal grafting in the treatment of burst fractures does not have a detectable effect on the rate of reconstruction of the canal area or on remodeling. Spinal canal remodeling was observed to occur in all patients regardless of grafting.