When and how to operate on thoracic and lumbar spine fractures?

Purpose: To discuss when and how to operate on thoracic and lumbar spine fractures.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively studied 77 consecutive patients with thoracic and lumbar spine fractures treated from 2000 to 2011; 28 patients experienced high-energy spinal trauma and 49 low-energy spinal trauma. Mean follow-up was 5 years (1-11 years).

Acrometastases.

Metastases distal to the elbow and the knee (acrometastases) are rare, accounting for approximately 0.1 % of all cases. Acrometastases can appear in patients of every age, with men being twice as likely as women to be affected.

Computer-assisted navigation in orthopedic surgery.

Computer-assisted navigation has a role in some orthopedic procedures. It allows the surgeons to obtain real-time feedback and offers the potential to decrease intra-operative errors and optimize the surgical result. Computer-assisted navigation systems can be active or passive.

Computer-assisted navigation in knee surgery.

Although computer-assisted navigation has been used in clinical practice for more than 15 years, it has only recently started to gain acceptance in a variety of orthopedic procedures. Different types of computer-assisted navigation are available, which allow the surgeon to obtain real-time feedback and offer him the potential to decrease intraoperative errors. However, its increased cost and lacking evidence of long-term superiority have made many surgeons skeptical about its clinical usefulness.

Instrumentation related complications in spine surgery.

Spinal instrumentation constructs are frequently necessary for the surgical management of patients with variable spinal pathology. However, surgical complications may appear. These should be detected early and managed to achieve recovery and good functional outcome for the patient.