ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the postoperative outcome of posterolateral decompression and posterior instrumentation in lumbar and thoracolumbar burst fracture with neurologic deficit. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: There are several methods to decompress the spinal canal following fracture. The use of posterolateral decompression had been limited due to several reasons including postoperative instability and further neurologic injury. The development of fixation system and new designed impactor solved the limitation of posterolateral decompression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 11 posterolateral decompression and pedicle screw instrumentation in burst fractures were performed. We measured canal compromise, reduction of sagittal curve and recovery of neurologic condition before and after surgery and at final follow-up. RESULTS: Canal compromise was reduced from 60.4% to 12.8% postoperatively. The sagittal index was 24.5 .preoperatively, 2.3 . postoperatively and 7.4 .at final follow-up. The recovery of neurologic condition was 1.1 degree in Frankel grade. CONCLUSION: Single-stage posterolateral decompression and posterior instrumentation is an effective technique to obtain neurologic recovery and rigid stabilization in the management of a lumbar and thoracolumbar burst fracture with neurologic deficit.