The effect of surgical intervention on rehabilitation time in patients with thoracolumbar and lumbar spinal cord injuries

One hundred forty-seven patients with unstable low thoracic and lumbar fractures were examined. All patients had significant neurologic injuries. Ninety-one patients exhibited incomplete lesions whereas fifty-six had complete lesions. Age, sex, cause of injury, fracture location, fracture mechanism,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976) Pa. 1976), 1992-12, Vol.17 (12), p.1443-1449
Main Authors: RIMOLDI, R. L, ZIGLER, J. E, CAPEN, D. A, HU, S. S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cerebrospinal fluid. Meninges. Spinal cord
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Internal Fixators
Lumbar Vertebrae - injuries
Male
Medical sciences
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Paraplegia - epidemiology
Paraplegia - etiology
Paraplegia - rehabilitation
Spinal Cord Injuries - epidemiology
Spinal Cord Injuries - etiology
Spinal Cord Injuries - rehabilitation
Spinal Fractures - complications
Spinal Fractures - epidemiology
Spinal Fractures - surgery
Spinal Fusion - instrumentation
Thoracic Vertebrae - injuries
Time Factors
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Summary:One hundred forty-seven patients with unstable low thoracic and lumbar fractures were examined. All patients had significant neurologic injuries. Ninety-one patients exhibited incomplete lesions whereas fifty-six had complete lesions. Age, sex, cause of injury, fracture location, fracture mechanism, and complications were recorded and analyzed. The average follow-up was 25 months (range 2-148). Incomplete neurologic lesions demonstrated a significant increase in ASIA motor points if both decompression and stabilization were performed at the same operative sitting. When decompression was performed before stabilization a decrease in improvement was noted. Patients with complete lesions demonstrated a significant reduction in rehabilitation time if stabilization was augmented with sublaminar wires rather than Drummond wires or Harrington rods alone.
ISSN:0362-2436
1528-1159
DOI:10.1097/00007632-199212000-00001