RESUMEN
Objective To explore the clinical effect of posterior deformity correction combined with anterior lesion re?moval and bone graft in the treatment of non?curable severe tuberculous thoracolumbar kyphosis. Methods All of 27 patients with non?curable severe tuberculous thoracolumbar kyphosis treated by posterior deformity correction combined with primary or secondary anterior debridement and bone grafting from January 2013 to July 2017 were retrospective analyzed, including 10 males and 17 females. The age ranged from 2 to 38 years with an average of 17.3±9.9 years. Posterior column osteotomy, spinal cord de?compression, cantilever bar pressing technique and intraoperative longitudinal traction were used to correct kyphosis. According to clinical symptoms, Cobb angle correction rate of kyphosis deformity, sagittal SVA of spine, height difference before and after opera?tion, operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, complications, and the effect of the operation was evaluated. Symptoms and functional evaluation indicators included visual analogue scale (VAS), American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) spinal cord inju?ry classification, Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI), and Kirkaldy?Willis functional score. Laboratory tests included erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C?reactive protein (CRP). Eck fusion grading standard was used to evaluate the degree of bone graft fusion. Results All the 27 patients successfully underwent the operation. The operation time was 210-530 minutes, with an aver?age of 343.0±71.5 minutes, while the bleeding volume was 300-2 600 ml, with an average of 1 168.5±606.7 ml. The preoperative Cobb angle ranged from 81 to 144 degrees, with an average of 105.2±17.7 degrees; the postoperative Cobb angle ranged from 5 to 47 degrees, with an average of 28.2±0.3 degrees, and the average correction rate was 72.9%±9.8%; the preoperative sagittal SVA ranged from 96.66 mm to 78.76 mm, with an average of 40.5±20.4 mm; and the postoperative sagittal SVA ranged from 33.61 mm to 44.96 mm, with an average of 26.6±12.6 mm. The height difference before and after operation was 26.8-172.7 mm, with an aver?age of 67.5±37.8 mm. The follow?up period ranged from 12 to 36 months, with an average of 19.3±6.7 months. At the last follow?up, the loss of Cobb angle ranged from 1 degree to 8 degree, with an average of 4.3°±1.8°degree. The postoperative nutritional sta?tus of all patients was significantly improved. At 3 months after operation, the average VAS score was 1.1±0.6 and the improve?ment rate was 47.5%. The difference was statistically significant (t=6.31, P<0.05). At 3 months after operation, the average ODI was 6.5%±4.1%, and the improvement rate was 68.1%. The difference was statistically significant (t=8.41, P<0.05). At the last fol?low?up, all the patients were improved to grade E in ASIA except one patient from grade B to grade D, and one stayed at grade E. Kirkaldy?willis functional score: excellent in 24 cases, good in 2 cases, and good in 1 case, with a total good/good rate of 88.9%. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in 3 patients after surgery, and pleural effusion occurred in 4 patients after surgery. No recur?rence of tuberculosis, loosening of internal fixation, fracture or loss of obvious correction were found during the follow?up. Accord?ing to the Eck fusion classification standard, at the time of the last follow?up bone graft area of all 27 cases reached I level fusion. Conclusion For non?curable severe tuberculous thoracolumbar kyphosis with multi?segment vertebral body loss, good deformity correction and proper recovery of vertebral height can be achieved by posterior osteotomy combined with cantilever beam tech?nique and intraoperative longitudinal traction. The combination of anterior debridement and bone graft fusion is a safe and reliable method.