• Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Khatam-ol-anbia Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. v_rahimi@yahoo.com
• J Spinal Cord Med. 2005 Jan 1;28(5):415-20.

Background/ObjectiveAn assessment of neurological improvement after surgical intervention in the setting of traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI).MethodsA retrospective evaluation of a nonconsecutive cohort of patients with a thoracic SCI from T2 to T11. The analysis included a total of 12 eligible patients. The neurologic and functional outcomes were recorded from the acute hospital admission to the most recent follow-up. Data included patient age, level of injury, neurologic examination according to the Frankel grading system, the performance of surgery, and the mechanism of the time-related SCI decompression.ResultsAll patients had a complete thoracic SCI. The median interval from injury to surgery was 11 days (range, 1-36 days). Decompression, bone fusion, and instrumentation were the most common surgical procedures performed. The median length of follow-up was 18 months after surgery (range, 9-132 months). Motor functional improvement was seen in 1 patient (Frankel A to C).ConclusionSurgical decompression and fusion imparts no apparent benefit in terms of neurologic improvement (spinal cord) in the setting of a complete traumatic thoracic SCI. To better define the role of surgical decompression and stabilization in the setting of a complete SCI, randomized, controlled, prospective studies are necessary.

19 keywords...

hide…