The effect of age on the change in deformity after anterior débridement surgery for tuberculosis of the spine

Combined anteroposterior approaches in lateral position treatment of lumbosacral tuberculous in single-stage

Background

The local anatomy of the lumbosacral region of spine is complicated, with special biomechanical characteristics. For surgical management of tuberculous spondylitis reported in the literature, the methods would be two-stage anterior and posterior approaches or one-stage anterior and posterior approach with patient’s intraoperative position being changed. These types of surgery approaches would result in long operative duration and more intraoperative blood loss, and most important there is no coordination between anterior and posterior procedures.

Methods

The purpose of this study was to introduce a new procedure called in the lateral position single -stage combined anteriorposterior approaches for treatment of lumbosacral tuberculous spondylitis and to evaluate its preliminary surgical outcomes. Fifteen patients with lumbosacral tuberculous spondylitis who underwent single-stage anterior and posterior radical focal debridement and reconstruction in lateral position in our hospital from April 2005 to June 2012 were included in the study. There were 6 males and 9 females with the average age of 46.8 years. The tuberculous lesions involved the following regions: L3-4 in 5cases, L4-5 in 5 cases, L5-S1 in 2 cases, L4 in one case, and L5 in 2 cases. The assessment of surgical outcomes was conducted with clinical symptoms and radiological findings,including operative time, blood loss. deformity angle, Frankel grade and Kirkaldy-Willis evaluation.

Results

Operation posture: The right lateral position was used for 11 patients and the left lateral position was used for the remaining 4 patients. The average duration of operation for the 15 patients was 270 min. The average intraoperative blood loss was 1720 ml. The mean follow-up period was 4.2 years. There was no recurrence. The postoperative radiological findings showed that the interbody bone grafts were fixed without any dislodgment. There was significant difference between preoperative and postoperative lumbosacral lordotic angles. Kirkaldy-Willis classification rating for the 13 cases with satisfactory results.

Conclusion

Single-stage combined anterior and posterior surgical management of lumbosacral tuberculous spondylitis with patient in lateral position can achieve radical focal debridement, anterior and posterior procedure coordination and spinal reconstruction.

Challenges and controversies in the treatment of spinal tuberculosis

Current guidelines regarding management of spinal TB are mostly extrapolated from trials on pulmonary disease. Since the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) trials in the 1970s, there are not many good quality studies that substantiate best practice guidelines for the management of this entity. Tuberculous infection of the spine behaves much differently from bacterial osteomyelitis and limited data leads to ambiguity in many cases. Although a few studies have been conducted in patients with spinal TB, most were in the era preceding short course chemotherapy and prior to current radiological and surgical advances. While spinal TB is primarily managed medically, surgical intervention may be needed in certain cases. We discuss areas of uncertainty and challenges that exist with regards to medical treatment, diagnosis, therapeutic endpoints, and a few surgical considerations. Substantial delay in diagnosis continues to be common with this disease even in the developed nations, leading to substantial morbidity. In light of limited evidence, there is an emerging recognition of the need to individualize various aspects of its treatment such as duration, frequency and acknowledging the limitations of various diagnostic and radiological modalities. We aim to consolidate potential areas of research in the diagnosis and management of spinal TB and to revisit the latest published evidence on its redressal.

Tubercular spondylitis in children

Spine of the child has unique anatomy and growth potential to grow to adult size. Tuberculosis (TB) spine results in bone loss as well as disturbed growth potential, hence spinal deformities may progress as the child grows. The growth potential is also disturbed when the disease focus is surgically intervened. Surgery is indicated for complications such as deformity, neurological deficit, instability, huge abscess, diagnostic dilemma and in suspected drug resistance to mycobacterium tuberculosis. The child on antitubercular treatment needs to be periodically evaluated for weight gain and drug dosages need to be adjusted accordingly. The severe progressive kyphotic deformity should be surgically corrected. Mild to moderate cases should be followed up until maturity to observe progression/improvement of spinal deformity. The surgical correction of kyphotic deformity in active disease is less hazardous than in a healed kyphosis. The internal kyphectomy by extra pleural approach allows adequate removal of internal salient in paraplegic patients with healed kyphotic deformity.

A large tuberculosis abscess causing spinal cord compression of the cervico-thoracic region in a young child

INTRODUCTION

Despite numerous descriptive publications, the guidelines for treatment of cervical spinal tuberculosis (TB) are not very clear. The authors report a case of a young girl with cervico-thoracic spinal TB extending from C5 to T3 vertebrae presenting with weakness of the right hand and unsteady gait.

CASE REPORT

An 11-year-old female who is an immigrant to the UK from Afghanistan, presented to our clinic with a 10-day history of difficulty in walking with an unsteady gait and 3-month history of progressive weakness in both her arms, the right side more affected than the left. Her immunisation history was unclear. Examination of the arms showed bilateral thenar and hypothenar wasting, more so on the right than the left. An MRI scan revealed a large para-spinal abscess extending from C3/4 to T4/5 with a significant anterior epidural cord compression from C5/6 to T2/3. Therapeutic/diagnostic aspiration was performed under ultrasound guidance and the aspirate was sent for microbiology. She was started empirically on multidrug anti-tubercular treatment and steroids. Although Ziehl-Neelsen stain was negative for acid-fast bacilli, microbiological confirmation of TB was obtained by positive TB culture sensitive to all first-line anti-TB drugs. She made a dramatic improvement within 3 weeks of anti-tubercular treatment. A follow-up MRI scan at 8 months showed complete resolution of the abscess. At 2 years of follow-up, she was a healthy looking child, back to her school with no residual clinical signs/symptoms of the disease.

CONCLUSION

Our case of cervico-thoracic tuberculous abscess in a young child suggests that even with incomplete neurological deficit caused by epidural cord compression, ultrasound (or CT)-guided aspiration and anti-tubercular medication provide acceptable results at 2 years of follow-up.

One-stage posterior debridement, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and instrumentation in treatment of lumbar spinal tuberculosis: a retrospective case series

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical outcomes of surgical management by one-stage posterior debridement, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and instrumentation and combined posterior and anterior approaches for lumbar spinal tuberculosis, and determine the clinical effectiveness of the posterior only surgical treatment for lumbar spinal TB at the same time.

METHODS

Thirty-seven patients who suffered lumbar tuberculosis were treated by two different surgical procedures in our center from May 2004 to June 2012. All the cases were divided into two groups: 19 cases in Group A underwent one-stage posterior debridement, TLIF and instrumentation, and 18 cases in Group B underwent posterior instrumentation, anterior debridement and bone graft in a single-stage procedure. The operation time, blood loss, lumbar kyphotic angle, recovery of neurological function and fusion time were, respectively, compared between Group A and Group B.

RESULTS

The average follow-up period for Group A was 46.6 ± 16.7 months, and for Group B, 47.5 ± 15.0 months. It was obvious that the average operative duration and blood loss of Group A was less than those of Group B. Lumbar tuberculosis was completely cured and the grafted bones were fused in 10 months in all patients. There was no persistence or recurrence of infection and no differences in the radiological results in both groups. The kyphosis was significantly corrected after surgical management. The average pretreatment ESR was 60.7 ± 22.5 mm/h, which became normal (9.0 ± 2.8 mm/h) within 3 months in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical management by one-stage posterior debridement, TLIF and instrumentation for lumbar tuberculosis is feasible and effective. This approach obtained better clinical outcomes than combined posterior and anterior surgeries.

One-stage surgical management for tuberculosis of the upper cervical spine by posterior debridement, short-segment fusion, and posterior instrumentation in children

PURPOSE

To evaluate the clinical study efficacy and feasibility of 11 children with tuberculosis of the upper cervical spine treated by one-stage posterior debridement, short-segment fusion, and posterior instrumentation.

METHODS

Eleven children who suffered from tuberculosis of the upper cervical spine were admitted to our hospital between June 2005 and December 2010. All of them were treated by one-stage posterior debridement, short-segment fusion, and posterior instrumentation. Then, the clinical efficacy was evaluated using statistical analysis based on the materials about the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of pain, JOA scores of nerve function and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), which were collected at certain time.

RESULTS

The average follow-up period was 28.1 ± 10.5 months (13-42 months). In the 11 cases, no postoperative complications related to instrumentation occurred and neurologic function was improved in various degrees. The average pretreatment ESR was 58.4 ± 4.9 mm/h (53-69 mm/h), which got normal (8.9 ± 6.5 mm/h) within 3 months in all patients. The average preoperative VAS was 7.4 ± 2.2, which decreased to 1.6 ± 1.8 postoperatively. Mean preoperative JOA was 11.2 ± 3.8, and the JOA at the last visit was 16.3 ± 1.0. All patients got bony fusion within 3-8 months after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

One-stage posterior debridement, short-segment fusion, and posterior instrumentation can be an effective treatment method for the treatment of tuberculosis of the upper cervical spine in children.

The role of debridement and reconstruction of sagittal balance in tuberculous spondylitis

BACKGROUND

An accepted comprehensive clinical approach to the deformed spine with tuberculous infection is still lacking. We aimed to determine the usage of a staged algorithm in the treatment of kyphotic spine with tuberculous infection and to present the clinical results of the patients treated with the help of this protocol.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

54 patients (28 females, 26 males) with a mean age of 39.2 (22-76) years. Preoperative, early postoperative, and followup clinical and radiologic results were evaluated retrospectively. The patients were classified into Kaplan A (kyphotic deformity <30°), Kaplan B (kyphotic deformity 30°-60°) and Kaplan C (kyphotic deformity >60°). They were operated by posterior instrument with anterior debridment (Kaplan A), debridment with anterior bone grafting (Kaplan B) and anterior column resection and bone grafting in Kaplan C.

RESULTS

Tuberculous involvement were seen at more than one level in 40 patients and paraspinal abscess were detected in 31. Preoperative focal kyphotic deformity was reconstructed with an average of 19 (9-38) degrees. Twenty-six patients had neurologic compromise with different severities and 12 of them improved after the surgical intervention. Improvement in work ability and pain status was detected in 52% and 61% of the patients, respectively. Wound complications responding to medical care were detected in nine patients. Initial kyphotic deformity was found as an important parameter in selecting the surgical procedure.

CONCLUSION

Regarding resected amount of infected osseous material, as planned preoperatively, have resulted with better concordance between anterior and posterior column heights and better sagittal alignment. We could correct kyphosis and improve sagittal balance with staged algorithm as used by us.

One-stage posterior focus debridement, fusion, and instrumentation in the surgical treatment of cervicothoracic spinal tuberculosis with kyphosis in children: a preliminary report

PURPOSE

To determine the efficacy and feasibility of surgical management of cervicothoracic tuberculosis accompanied by kyphosis in children by using one-stage posterior focus debridement, bone graft fusion, and instrumentation at a single institution.

METHODS

Ten consecutive cases with cervicothoracic tuberculosis with kyphosis were treated with one-stage posterior focus debridement, bone graft fusion, and instrumentation. The mean follow-up was 36 months (range 26-47 months). The kyphotic angle ranged from 35° to 62° before operation, 50.5° in average. The American Spinal Injury Association score system was used to evaluate the neurological deficits.

RESULTS

Spinal tuberculosis was completely cured in all ten patients. There was no recurrent tuberculous infection. The postoperative kyphotic angle was 10° to 22°, 17.5° in average, and there was no significant loss of the correction at the latest follow-up. Solid fusion was achieved in all cases. Neurological condition in all patients was improved after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

One-stage posterior debridement, bone grafting, and instrumentation can be an effective treatment method of cervicothoracic spinal tuberculosis with kyphosis in children.

Tuberculosis of the spine: a fresh look at an old disease

The dismal outcome of tuberculosis of the spine in the pre-antibiotic era has improved significantly because of the use of potent antitubercular drugs, modern diagnostic aids and advances in surgical management. MRI allows the diagnosis of a tuberculous lesion, with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 88%, well before deformity develops. Neurological deficit and deformity are the worst complications of spinal tuberculosis. Patients treated conservatively show an increase in deformity of about 15 degrees . In children, a kyphosis continues to increase with growth even after the lesion has healed. Tuberculosis of the spine is a medical disease which is not primarily treated surgically, but operation is required to prevent and treat the complications. Panvertebral lesions, therapeutically refractory disease, severe kyphosis, a developing neurological deficit, lack of improvement or deterioration are indications for surgery. Patients who present with a kyphosis of 60 degrees or more, or one which is likely to progress, require anterior decompression, posterior shortening, posterior instrumented stabilisation and anterior and posterior bone grafting in the active stage of the disease. Late-onset paraplegia is best prevented rather than treated. The awareness and suspicion of an atypical presentation of spinal tuberculosis should be high in order to obtain a good outcome. Therapeutically refractory cases of tuberculosis of the spine are increasing in association with the presence of HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Kyphosis in spinal tuberculosis - Prevention and correction

Spinal deformity and paraplegia/quadriplegia are the most common complications of tuberculosis (TB) of spine. TB of dorsal spine almost always produces kyphosis while cervical and lumbar spine shows reversal of lordosis to begin with followed by kyphosis. kyphosis continues to increase in adults when patients are treated nonoperatively or by surgical decompression. In children, kyphosis continues to increase even after healing of the tubercular disease. The residual, healed kyphosis on a long follow-up produces painful costopelvic impingement, reduced vital capacity and eventually respiratory complications; spinal canal stenosis proximal to the kyphosis and paraplegia with healed disease, thus affecting the quality and span of life. These complications can be avoided by early diagnosis of tubercular spine lesion to heal with minimal or no kyphosis. When tubercular lesion reports with kyphosis of more than 50 degrees or is likely to progress further, they should be undertaken for kyphus correction. The sequential steps of kyphosis correction include anterior decompression and corpectomy, posterior column shortening, posterior instrumentation, anterior bone grafting and posterior fusion. During the procedure, the spinal cord should be kept under vision so that it should not elongate. Internal kyphectomy (gibbectomy) is a preferred treatment for late onset paraplegia with severe healed kyphosis.

Effect of age on clinical and radiographic outcomes and adverse events following 1-level lumbar arthroplasty after a minimum 2-year follow-up

Object

Lumbar arthroplasty is approved in the US for the treatment of degenerative disc disease at 1 level in skeletally mature patients. However, a bias toward older patients (> 45 years of age) who are otherwise indicated for the procedure may exist. In this study, the clinical outcomes of patients from the Charité Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study were analyzed on the basis of patient age.

Methods

There were 276 patients enrolled in the IDE study of the Charité Artificial Disc who underwent 1-level arthroplasty at either L4–5 or L5–S1, including 71 nonrandomized and 205 randomized individuals. Patient data were analyzed based on age (18–45 years [217 patients, Group 1] compared with 46–60 years [59 patients, Group 2]). Statistical analyses were performed based on 2-year postoperative improvements in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and visual analog scale (VAS) scores (clinical outcome), as well as range of motion (radiographic outcome), and adverse events.

Results

There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to level implanted, operative time, blood loss, changes in ODI and VAS scores or any of the 8 component scores of the SF-36, compared with baseline, at all time points throughout the 24-month follow-up period (p > 0.10). Patient satisfaction was equivalent at 24 months, with 87% satisfaction in Group 1 and 85% satisfaction in Group 2 (no statistical difference). In addition, no significant differences were identified with respect to adverse events including approach related, neurological, technique related, or reoperation.

Conclusions

Although patients > 45 years of age may have comorbidities or contraindications for arthroplasty for a number of reasons, particularly osteopenia, this analysis demonstrates that patients who are indicated for 1-level arthroplasty experience similar clinical outcome, satisfaction, or adverse events compared with their younger counterparts.

Treatment of tuberculosis of the cervical spine: operative versus nonoperative

We retrospectively reviewed 15 children (four with paralysis) and 39 adults (10 with paralysis) with tuberculosis of the cervical spine to assess the drug responses, disease arrest, and healing times. Ten children and 13 adults were treated nonoperatively, while anterior débridement was performed in five children (two with paralysis) and anterior radical surgery in 26 adults (10 with paralysis). Triple chemotherapy (isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol [or pyrazinamide for children]) was given to all patients for 12 months. The tuberculosis began to arrest after 3 months of chemotherapy and healed within 12 months. Spontaneous fusion occurred in all adults but only two of the 10 children. Surgical fusion was achieved within 12 to 16 weeks in adults. In nonoperated patients, an initial kyphosis of 12 degrees progressed to 17 degrees at final followup in the children and an initial kyphosis of 9 degrees progressed to 13 degrees in 13 adults. In operated patients, the initial kyphosis of 13 degrees in adults became 2 degrees at the time of the fusion, while the initial kyphosis of 14 degrees in the five children progressed to 18 degrees. Patients with paraplegia recovered completely within 14 days on average (range, 1-42 days) after treatment. Recovery was gradual in the nonoperative group, while it occurred within 3 days in the operative group.

Thoracic and lumbar deformity: rationale for selecting the appropriate fusion technique (Anterior, posterior, and 360 degree)

The rationale of anterior versus posterior, or combined fusion is discussed with regards to different clinical diagnoses and situations. Factors involved in the decision-making process include stability, magnitude of deformity, rigidity of deformity, neurologic considerations, bone quality, and medical/metabolic factors. Careful preoperative assessment and planning are required as well as consideration for the patient's overall well being.