ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the clinical effects between open reduction internal fixation and three-dimensional reduction with external fixation under analgesia in treating fresh thoracolumbar fractures, and explore the simple and effective method for thoracolumbar fractures.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of 40 patients with thoracolumbar fractures who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the department of orthopaedics affiliated to Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from February 2013 to August 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. According to therapeutic methods, the patients were devided into treatment group and control group, 20 cases in each group. Treatment group was treated by three-dimensional reduction method and external fixation devices under analgesia, and control group was treated by open reduction and common spinal fixation system. In treatment group, there were 9 males and 11 females, aged from 26 to 68 years old with an average of (52.8±11.3) years; and in control group, there were 10 males and 10 females, aged from 26 to 64 years old with an average of(50.6±8.8) years. Anterior vertebral body compression(AVBC), Cobb angle and visual analogue scale(VAS) were measured and compared in two group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All 40 patients finished follow-up. The follow-up time in treatment group was 5 to 37 months with average of (16.1±8.8) months, in control group was 5 to 29 months with an average of(17.3±6.0) months. There was no significant difference between two groups(>0.05). AVBC, Cobb angle, VAS score were obviously improved in all patients after treatment(<0.05), but there were no significant difference between two groups(>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Clinical effect of two methods was similar in treating thoracolumbar fractures, but three-dimensional reduction and external fixation devices under analgesia has advantage of easy operation, smaller trauma and no need secondary surgery for removed internal fixation.</p>