Repeated Vertebral Body Fracture at Different Levels due to Sagittal Imbalance

ABSTRACT

The authors report a case of repeated vertebral body fracture at different levels due to sagittal imbalance resulting from long level spinal fusion after thoracic discectomy. A 69-year-old woman with severe cord compression at T9-T10-T11 due to calcified herniated discs underwent an anterior thoracotomy via the left transpleural approach followed by discectomy of T9-T10-T11. Six weeks later, she complained of severe thoracic and right flank pain after falling over. A newly developed burst fracture resulting in sagittal imbalance was detected, so the authors performed posterior fusion from T8 to L2 and pedicle screw fixation. Unfortunately, 4 months after the second ope- ration the patient revisited our hospital complaining of severe back and right leg pain. The whole spine lateral view revealed a newly developed bursting fracture of L3 and more aggravated sagittal imbalance accompanied with junctional kyphosis at the L2-L3 level. The authors performed a third operation composed of anterior lumbar inter- body fusion at the L5-S1 level and L3 closing wedge osteotomy with fixation for better sagittal balance and nerve decompression. The patient showed no evidence of postoperative neurological compromise. Her back and leg pain improved over time, and she was completely pain-free at 4 months after the surgery