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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Comparative Study
Anterior versus posterior surgery for osteoporotic vertebral collapse with neurological deficit in the thoracolumbar spine.
Despite the increasing number of reports on surgical treatments for thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral collapse with neurological deficits, the choice of surgery remains controversial. In this retrospective study, we compared the outcomes of posterior and anterior surgeries for single-level osteoporotic vertebral collapse with neurological deficit in the thoracolumbar spine. Both posterior and anterior surgical approaches were performed with a consistent procedure for a single surgical indication at one institution. ⋯ None of the patients developed instrumentation-related neurological problems. Two cases in each group developed pseudoarthrosis. In single-level osteoporotic vertebral collapse with neurological deficit, anterior surgery tended to improve neurological deficit in wedge type, but not in flat type collapse, compared with posterior surgery.