20-Year-Follow up of Treatment Using Spine Osteotomy and Halo-pelvic Traction for Tuberculous Kyphosis: A Case Report

A 23-year-old male whose medical history included tuberculous spondylitis presented with a kyphotic deformity and incomplete paraplegia of twenty days duration. Preoperative radiographs demonstrated a T12-L4 kyphotic Cobb's angle of 100degrees with a complete block showing on the lumbar myelogram at L4-5. The patient underwent anterior osteotomy and release. After the operation, a halo-pelvic apparatus was fit onto the patient, and distraction was begun. After distraction for 2 months, posterior osteotomy and release was performed for final correction, and distraction was maintained for another three weeks. Finally, the kyphotic deformity was corrected to a Cobb's angle of 62degrees from T12 to L4. Supplementary anterior fusion was done, and the apparatus was removed after consolidation of the fusion mass.

Halo pelvic distraction in combination with total spine osteotomy and internal fixation for treatment of severe scoliosis / 中国矫形外科杂志

[Objective]To report the records of 185 patients in whom severe scoliosis had been treated with preoperative halo-pelvic distraction and following total spine osteotomy and internal fixation.[Method]Preoperative halo-pelvic distraction was applied to all patients to reduce the severity of curvatures and make the following treatment possible.Then total spine osteotomy and internal fixation were performed to rectify the remained deformity of the spine.Halo-pelvic distraction was maintained during the operation and postoperatively to limit the mobilization of the patients.At one day after the operation,the patients were able to get out of bed,stand up and move around,making nursing care more convenient.[Result]Between 1983 and 2003,a total of 185 cases of severe scoliosis were treated by this approach and an average correction rate of 70.32% was achieved.Complete bone fusions were achieved at the cut ends of thc bone.The average loss of correction rate was less than 5 degrees.In the late stage of postoperative duration,rod release occurred in four cases and was resolved by second surgical intervention,showing no adverse effect on the clinical outcome.At one year postoperative infective complication occurred in one case and the patient fully recovered after the removal of the inserted device.X-ray examination confirmed good healing of the hone grafts.Root pain occurred in one case and the patient gradually recovered without any medical intervention.None of the rest patients had evidence of spinal cord or nervous system complications.[Conclusion]Halo-pelvic distraction instrumenation,in combination with total spine osteotomy,is an effective treatment modality for severe spinal curvatures.Halo-pelvic distraction can facilitate the operative procedure for those cases that can not be cured by application of single instrumentation or have difficulty in the insertion of the internal fixation device.The combined total spine osteotomy can further correct the spinal curves,reduce the burden of the fixafion device and avoid the occurrence of release or break down of the rods,eventually cure the severe scoliosis effectively.