Any 14 Cervical spine 40 Thoracic spine 10 Thoracolumbar junction 35 Lumbar spine 3 A patient with serious multiple injuries is rarely able to provide a coherent history. Injuries that carry a risk of death or severe disability must, therefore, be suspected from the outset so that correct early management can be instituted. Any patient with trauma who is not fully conscious should be assumed to...

Spinal cord compressing syndrome due to synovial cyst (SC) of the thoracolumbar spine is a rare clinical condition. In this report we aim to heighten awareness of the thoracolumbar facet synovial cyst as a possible cause of thoracic myelopathy. The SC was removed thoroughly by laminectomy. The patient had an excellent recovery. The etiological and therapeutic aspects are discussed.

STUDY DESIGN A prospective treatment study with a new brace was conducted Objective. To evaluate radiological and subjective clinical results after one year conservative brace treatment with pressure onto lordosis at the thoracolumbar joint in children with scoliosis and kyphosis. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Conservative brace treatment of adolescent scoliosis is not proven to be effective in ...

The mini-open anterolateral approach to the thoracolumbar spine is gaining popularity as a minimally-invasive alternative to traditional open thoracolumbar approaches. Published studies reporting and discussing the complications associated with this minimally invasive approach, however, are limited. We performed a retrospective review of patients undergoing the mini-open lateral approach to the...

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective case series of UK victims of blast injury. OBJECTIVE To identify the injury patterns in the spine caused by under-vehicle blast, and attempt to derive the mechanism of those injuries. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The Improvised Explosive Device has been a feature of recent conflicts with frequent attacks on vehicles, leading to devastating injuries. Vehicle design...

Extension-distraction injuries caused by hyperextension of the spine typically occur in the cervical region, as seen in “whiplash” injuries. This type of injury is rare in the thoracolumbar spine, comprising less than 3% of fractures in this region . Denis and Burkus described it as “lumberjack paraplegia” as most patients with this injury were struck in the back by a falling tree . Rare instan...

The past few decades have seen remarkable advancement in the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries to the spine and spinal cord. The development of new surgical techniques, imaging modalities, diagnostic classification systems, and biological materials gives cause for hope of improved patient outcomes following spinal trauma. Despite this progress in the understanding and treatm...

Cases of over 5-level spinous process fractures are extremely rare. Thoracolumbar region of spine is superimposed on ribs; and as such additional studies such as computerized tomography are needed to diagnose fractures in this region. We report a case of 11 contiguous level thoracolumbar spinous process fractures, which has been treated conservatively.