Novel guidance system assistance percutaneous pedicle screw placement for thoracolumbar vertebral fracture without nerve injury / 局解手术学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective The aim of this study was to compare recent clinical efficacy between a novel guidance method for percutaneous pedicle screw placement and the conventional fluoroscopic method for long segments thoracolumbar vertebral fracture without nerve injury. Methods A total of 38 patients with thoracolumbar vertebral fracture in our hospital from September 2010 to December 2012 were divided into group A and group B.Eighteen patients in group A underwent 200 percutaneous pedicle screw fixation by conventional fluoroscopic meth-od.Twenty patients in group B underwent 210 percutaneous pedicle screw fixation by a novel guidance method.All the operation for 38 cases were performed by the same surgeon.The time of insertion,radiation exposure,and accuracy of the screw placement between the two groups were compared.The accuracy of screws was evaluated and graded by two consecutive postoperative CT of operation segment for two groups. Results The mean time for a single pedicle screw placement was (13.11 ±2.32)minutes in group A and (10.35 ±1.92)minutes in group B,respectively.The average radiation exposure was (8.11 ±1.15)s in group B and (13.07 ±2.06)s in group A respectively.The differ-ences were statistically significant for both screw placement and radiation exposure times (P 0.05).Conclusion The novel guidance system can significantly reduce the insertion time and radiation expo-sure for long segments percutaneous pedicle screw placement,which provides the same accuracy for screw placement compared with the con-ventional method.