Case Study: Burst Fracture 1
HISTORY
- The patient is a 51-year-old male with alcohol addiction who fell down while having a seizure and was unable to walk.
PHYSICAL EXAM
- He had severe tenderness to palpation over the mid-lumbar spine and was not able to walk because of severe pain and leg weakness.
PREOPERATIVE IMAGING
Sagittal and coronal CT sections showing a L1 compression fracture and a L2 burst fracture with severe bony collapse and kyphotic deformity with loss of thoracolumbar alignment
DIAGNOSIS
- L1 compression fracture, L2 burst fracture with kyphotic deformity and canal stenosis.
SURGERY
- MIS (minimally invasive surgery), lateral corpectomy, kyphoplasty and percutaneous screws
- 3.5 hours of operative time
- 100 cc blood loss
POSTOPERATIVE IMAGING
AP and lateral X-rays showing correction of deformity and realignment with an expandable cage at the site of corpectomy (perfomed from the lateral approach through a tubular retractor) and percutaneous pedicle screws placed between muscle planes
OUTCOMES
- The patient was able to ambulate the day after surgery. His postoperative pain was minimal.
- By doing this surgery in a minimally invasive manner, we preserved his back muscles and avoided fusing his mobile lumbar spine so that the range of motion of his back would not be significantly affected.
- In a patient with his characteristics (alcohol addiction/seizures disorder), MIS surgery decreased his risks of infection and preserved his back musculature, reduced complications and restored spinal alignment at the thoraco-lumbar junction to prevent future problems with lumbar kyphosis.
Hospital Affiliations
Mt. Sinai
Saint Barnabas Medical Center
Lenox Hill
Formerly St. Luke’s-Roosevelt
Hospital in Manhattan
Livingston, NJ
Formerly Lenox Hill Hospital
in Manhattan
Outpatient Surgery Centers
Malo Surgery Center
201 Route 17 North 12th floor
Rutherford, NJ 07070
Phone: 201-549-8890
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Midtown Surgery Center
305 East 47th St.
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-751-2100
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Advanced Spine Surgery Center
855 Lehigh Ave,
Union, NJ 07083
Phone: 908-557-9420
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Denville Surgery Center LLC
3130 Route 10 West
Denville, NJ 07834
Phone: 973-328-3475
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