Clinical Analysis of Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Spinal Surgery in the Thoracic or Thoracolumbar Spinal Pathologies

An unusual presentation of thoracic diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)

Introduction and importance

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier's disease and Forestier and Rotes-Querol disease, is a systemic condition characterized by calcification and ossification of ligaments and entheses which often mainly affects the thoracic spine. Anterior osteophyte compression of the esophagus resulting in dysphagia and dyspepsia is extremely rare in symptomatic thoracic DISH.

Case presentation

A 72-year-old male presented with dyspepsia and dysphagia for 10 months. A large beak-like anterior osteophyte, detected by a radiographic study and by a Barium esophagogram test at the T9-T10 level of the thoracic spine, was established by gastrointestinal medicine specialists to be the cause of the symptoms. The large anterior osteophyte was removed using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). At the one-year follow-up, the patient's symptoms had significantly improved and there was no recurrence of the osteophyte or the dyspepsia and dysphagia.

Clinical discussion

Thoracic DISH rarely presents with dysphagia and dyspepsia due to the greater mobility of the esophagus in the area of the thoracic spine than in the area of the cervical spine. This is the first reported case of symptomatic thoracic DISH treated by anterior thoracic osteophytectomy with VATS. The treatment was effective with no post-operative complications.

Conclusion

Anterior thoracic osteophytectomy with VATS is an effective surgical treatment option for this condition.

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Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier's disease and Forestier and Rotes-Querol disease, is an extremely rare form of symptomatic thoracic DISH.

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Secondary dysphagia and dyspepsia can be caused by a giant beak-like anterior osteophyte at the T9-T10 levels of the thoracic spine.

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Surgical management with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) provides results superior to non-surgical treatments.

Transdiaphragmatic Approach as a Novel Less Invasive Retroperitoneal Approach at Thoracolumbar Junction: Comparison with Conventional Diaphragmatic Incision

Introduction

Lateral corpectomy has been considered a minimally invasive surgery, allowing a “transdiaphragmatic approach” at the thoracolumbar junction. This approach allows for a small diaphragmatic incision directly in the retroperitoneal space and the affected vertebra. However, its effectiveness in comparison to a conventional approach remains unclear. Thus, in this present study, we compared the surgical outcomes between conventional diaphragmatic detachment and the transdiaphragmatic approach in patients with vertebral fracture at the thoracolumbar junction.

Methods

In total, 31 patients with a vertebral fracture at the thoracolumbar junction (T12-L2) were included in this study: 17 underwent a conventional approach, whereas 14 underwent a transdiaphragmatic approach, with a minimum 2-year follow-up. The effectiveness of surgery was evaluated in each category of the Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ).

Results

Operative time and estimated blood loss were determined to be significantly shorter in the transdiaphragmatic than in the conventional approach. Perioperative complications were observed in the conventional approach (one atelectasis and one pleural effusion), while no complication was noted in the transdiaphragmatic approach. There were no significant differences in postoperative quality of life as assessed by JOABPEQ in terms of pain-related disorders, lumbar spine dysfunction, gait disturbance, social life dysfunction, or psychological disorders between the conventional and transdiaphragmatic approaches.

Conclusions

A “transdiaphragmatic approach” using lateral access surgery has been found to be associated with a shorter operative time and less blood loss with fewer complications than the conventional approach. Given that equivalent clinical outcomes were achieved in both conventional and transdiaphragmatic approaches, this “transdiaphragmatic approach” could be useful because of its minimal invasiveness.

Minimally invasive corpectomy and percutaneous transpedicular stabilization in the treatment of patients with unstable injures of the thoracolumbar spine: Results of retrospective case series

Objective:

The objective of this study was to analyze the results of surgical treatment of patients with unstable injuries of the thoracolumbar spine using simultaneous minimally invasive corpectomy and percutaneous transpedicular stabilization.

Materials and Methods:

The retrospective study included 34 patients with isolated single-level unstable injuries of the thoracolumbar spine (5 or more points according to the Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score (TLICS), operated on from the moment of injury from 8 to 24 h using the technique of minimally invasive corpectomy and percutaneous transpedicular stabilization simultaneously. The technical features of surgery, clinical data (pain level according to the Visual Analog Scale, quality of life according to the SF-36 questionnaire, subjective satisfaction with the operation according to the MacNab scale, and the presence of complications), and instrumental data (angle of segmental kyphotic deformity and sagittal index to and after surgery). The assessment of clinical data was carried out before surgery, at discharge, after 6 months, and in the long-term period, on average, 30 months after surgery.

Results:

When evaluating the clinical data, a significant decrease in the severity of pain syndrome was found on average from 90 mm to 5.5 mm in the late follow-up (P < 0.001), as well as a significant improvement in the physical and psychological components of health according to the SF-36 questionnaire on average from 28.78 to 39.26 (P < 0.001), from 36.93 to 41.43 (P = 0.006), respectively. In the long-term period, according to the MacNab scale, the patients noted the result of the operation: excellent – 18 (52.9%), good – 13 (38.3%), and satisfactory – 3 (8.8%); no unsatisfactory results were registered. Four (11.8%) perioperative surgical complications were registered, which were successfully treated conservatively. A significant restoration of the sagittal profile with an insignificant change in blood pressure was recorded in the long-term postoperative period. An average follow-up assessment of 30 months according to the American Spinal Injury Association scale showed the presence of E and D degrees in 85.4% of patients.

Conclusion:

Minimally invasive corpectomy with percutaneous transpedicular stabilization in the treatment of patients with unstable injuries of the thoracolumbar spine can effectively eliminate kyphotic deformity and prevent the loss of its reduction with a low number of postoperative surgical complications. The technique has minimal surgical trauma with the possibility of early postoperative rehabilitation and provides a significant stable reduction in vertebrogenic pain syndrome, improvement of neurological deficits, and restoration of the quality of life of patients and in the follow-up.

Minimally invasive spine surgeries for treatment of thoracolumbar fractures of spine: A systematic review

PURPOSE

Many minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques have been developed for instrumentation of spine. These MIS techniques restore stability, alignment while achieving return to function quite early as compared to open spine surgeries. The main aim of this review was to evaluate role, indications and complications of these MIS techniques in Thoracolumbar and Lumbar fractures.

METHODS

Pubmed search using key words such as"Percutaneous pedicle screw for Thoracolumbar fractures" and "Video Assisted Thoracoscopy, Thoracoscopic, VATS for thoracolumbar, Lumbar and Spine fractures" were used till July 2016 while doing literature search. Authors analyzed all the articles, which came after search; the articles relevant to the topic were selected and used for the study. Both prospective and retrospective case control studies and randomized control trials (RCT's) were included in this review. Case reports and reviews were excluded. Studies demonstrating use of MIS in cases other than spine trauma and studies with lack of clinical follow up were excluded from this review. Variables such as number of patients, operative time and complications were evaluated in each study.

RESULTS

After pubmed search, we found total 68 studies till July 2016 out of which eight studies were relevant for analysis of Video Assisted Thoracoscopy for thoracolumbar and lumbar fractures. Total 72 articles for Percutaneous pedicle screws in thoracolumbar and lumbar fractures were retrieved out of which percutaneous pedicle screws were analyzed in eleven studies and twelve studies involved comparison of percutaneous pedicle screws and conventional open techniques.

CONCLUSION

Role and Indications of the MIS techniques in spinal trauma are expanding quite rapidly. MIS techniques restore stability, alignment while achieving early return to function and lower infection rates as compared to open spine surgeries. In long term, they provide good kyphosis correction and stable fixation and fusion of spine. They are associated with long learning curve and technical challenges but with careful patient selection and in expert hands, MIS techniques may produce better results than open trauma spine surgeries.

The posterior approach operation to treat thoracolumbar disc herniation: A minimal 2-year follow-up study

Thoracolumbar disc herniation (TLDH) is a rare and progressively disabling disorder; surgical procedures predispose the subjects to high incidence of complications including recurrence, neurological aggravation, and adjacent segment degeneration.Ten patients with TLDH underwent posterior approach operation in our institution from January, 2006 to December, 2015. The mean preoperative duration of clinical symptoms was 16.5 months. The clinical data including operative time, blood loss, and hospitalization duration were investigated. Furthermore, pre and postoperative neurological status was evaluated by the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring system and pain by visual analog scale (VAS) scoring system.The mean operative time was 176.50 ± 20.55 minutes, the mean blood loss was 435.00 ± 89.58 mL, and the mean hospitalization length was 13.30 ± 2.97 days. All patients were followed with a mean period of 35.1 months. The mean JOA score of all patients before operation, at discharge, 3 months after operation, and at last follow-up was 6.50 ± 1.28, 7.60 ± 1.22, 8.90 ± 0.99, and 9.00 ± 0.92, respectively. The differences between the pre and postoperative JOA and VAS scores were significant (P < .05). However, the differences of JOA and VAS scores at postoperative 3 months and final follow-up were not statistically significant.Posterior approach operation is an ideal surgical technique for treatment of TLDH; the operative time, blood loss, hospitalization duration, and symptomatic improvement are favorable.

Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Drainage of Dorsal Paravertebral Abscess

Tuberculosis of the spine is the second most common extrapulmonary presentation of the disease and is associated with significant morbidity. The drainage of the abscess may be needed in patients who fail to respond to medical treatment and present with a significant or deteriorating neurologic status. The dorsal spine gives a unique opportunity for decompression alone as it is supported by the rib cage, decreasing the chances of collapse. Drainage of the abscess in the dorsal spine usually needs an open thoracotomy. Open thoracotomy is associated with increased blood loss, pain, and increased postoperative rehabilitation period. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is an excellent alternative for decompression of dorsal paraspinal abscess with significantly decreased blood loss, soft tissue dissection, scarring, and hospital stay. Overall, this leads to significantly decreased postoperative morbidity and faster recovery. The purpose of this article was to describe the indications and procedure of VATS for drainage of dorsal spine paravertebral abscess.

Experience in the treatment of thoracic herniated disc using image-guided thorascopy

Thoracoscopic micro-discectomy is a treatment option for thoracic disc disease that combines the advantages of the anterior approach and the benefits of a minimally invasive technique. Adding a navigation system provides many advantages to the usual technique, as it allows accurate marking of the lesion level, improvement in the surgical approach, and precise control of herniated disc resection and vertebral osteotomy. The navigation system also reduces the learning curve for thoracoscopic technique. We report our experience in the treatment of thoracic disc herniation with image-guided thoracoscopy.

Surgical management for thoracic spinal tuberculosis posterior only versus anterior video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

STUDY DESIGN

A comparable retrospective study.

OBJECT

To compare the clinical outcomes of surgical treatment by posterior only and anterior video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for thoracic spinal tuberculosis (TSTB).

METHOD

145 patients with TSTB treated by two different surgical procedures in our institution from June 2001 to June 2014 were studied. All cases were retrospectively analyzed and divided into two groups according to the given treatments: 75 cases (32F/43M) in group A performed single-stage posterior debridement, transforaminal thoracic interbody fusion and instrumentation, and 70 cases (30F/40M) in group B underwent anterior video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Clinical and radiographic results in the two groups were analyzed and compared.

RESULTS

Patients in group A and B were followed up for an average of 4.6±1.8, 4.4±1.2 years, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of the operation time, blood loss, bony fusion, neurological recovery and the correction angle of kyphotic deformity (P>0.05). Fewer pulmonary complications were observed in group A. Good clinical outcomes were achieved in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the anterior VATS and posterior approaches can effectively treat thoracic tuberculosis. Nevertheless, the posterior approach procedure obtained less morbidity and complications than the other.

Upper thoracic disc disease (T1-T9) in large-breed dogs

The purpose of this study was to identify large-breed dogs with intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) in the upper thoracic region (thoracic vertebrae 1-9 [T1-T9]). Medical records of all dogs that were diagnosed with IVDD on MRI between February 2008 and September 2011 were reviewed. Of 723 dogs diagnosed with IVDD based on MRI, 527 (72.9%) were small-breed dogs. There were 21 (10.7%) large-breed dogs with IVDD in the T1-T9 region, whereas no small-breed dogs were identified with lesions in that region. The most common upper thoracic lesion sites were T2-T3 (33.3%) and T4-T5 (25.9%). The majority of dogs with T1-T9 lesions were German shepherd dogs (52.4%). Larger, older dogs were more likely to have T1-T9 lesions and more likely to have multiple regions with IVDD, in particular German shepherd dogs (35.1%). Dogs with T1-T9 IVDD were more likely to have IVDD in another region (66.7%). All large-breed dogs presenting with T3-L3 myelopathy should have diagnostic imaging performed of their entire thoracic and lumbar spine.

Case report: Curetting osteoid osteoma of the spine using combined video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and navigation

BACKGROUND

A spinal osteoid osteoma is a rare benign tumor. The usual treatment involves complete curettage including the nidus. In the thoracic spine, conventional open surgical treatment usually carries relatively high surgical risks because of the close anatomic relationship to the spinal cord, nerve roots, and thoracic vessels, and pulmonary complications and postoperative pain.

CASE REPORT

We report the case of a 16-year-old girl with a symptomatic osteoid osteoma at the T9 level whose lesion was currettaged using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) guided by a navigation system (VATS-NAV). There were no complications and the patient had immediate relief of the characteristic pain after surgery and was asymptomatic at 5 months' followup.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Progressive advances in the technology of spinal surgery have evolved to offer greater safety and less morbidity for patients. The advent of minimally invasive surgery has expanded the indications for VATS for anterior spinal disorders. Spinal navigation systems have become useful tools allowing localization and excision of the nidus of osteoid osteomas with minimal bone resection and without radiation exposure.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The VATS-NAV combination in our patient allowed accurate localization and guidance for complete excision of a spinal osteoid osteoma through a minimally invasive approach without compromising spinal stability.

Minimally invasive transforaminal, thoracic microscopic discectomy: technical report and preliminary results and complications

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

Surgical decompression of thoracic disc herniations is technically challenging because retraction of the thecal sac in this area must be avoided. Standard open thoracic discectomy procedures require fairly extensive soft tissue dissection and vertebral resection to provide safe decompression of the spinal cord.

PURPOSE

To describe our experience using a minimally invasive, transforaminal thoracic discectomy (MITTD) technique for the treatment of thoracic disc herniation.

STUDY DESIGN

Technical report and preliminary results and complications.

METHODS

Twelve patients undergoing MITTD were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively at 1-, 3-, and 6-month intervals with neurologic examination, and were graded using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale and a pain visual analog scale (VAS). Thoracic instability and bony fusion were assessed clinically and radiographically with plain radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans. Surgical time, blood loss, complications, and hospital length of stay were recorded.

RESULTS

Twelve patients (seven men and five women) underwent MITTD. The median surgical time was 128 (80 to 185) minutes, the median estimated blood loss was 100 (30 to 250) mL, and the median hospital stay was 2 (1 to 4) nights. All discs were successfully removed, and a CT or magnetic resonance imaging confirmed adequate cord decompression in all cases. All patients reported easing of neurologic symptoms and improved walking ability. The median VAS scores improved from 4.5 to 2 for back pain. The ASIA score improved from D to E in the two patients who suffered from motor weakness. Preoperative sensory deficit was reduced in three of the five patients. Patients who suffered from sexual and urinary disturbances did not report improvement. Serious systemic or local complications and neurologic deterioration were not reported.

CONCLUSIONS

The transforaminal approach enabled sufficient access to the midline of the spinal canal without extensive resection of the facet joint or the adjacent pedicle. Because most of the osseous and ligamentous structures were preserved, additional instrumentation was not required to prevent postoperative instability. Our early results suggested that minimally invasive thoracic discectomy by transforaminal microscopic technique is a valuable choice in the management of thoracic disc herniation.

Metastatic spine disease in the elderly: diagnostic and management considerations

Metastatic spine disease is becoming a more frequent problem in cancer patients as advancements in treatment for primary tumors prolong patient survival. Elderly patients over 60 years of age make up the majority of these cases, with the incidence of metastatic disease several folds higher in the elderly than in any other age group. These patients are also the most challenging group to treat, given higher rates of comorbidities and decreased tolerance to medical, surgical and radiation therapies. Advancements in therapeutic strategies, including minimally invasive surgeries and stereotactic radiosurgery, have provided increasingly attractive treatment options for elderly patients owing to their decreased procedure-associated morbidity. This article will discuss efficacy and limitations of conventional, as well as more recent, treatment modalities with an emphasis on their role in the management of elderly patients.

Minimally invasive surgery for traumatic spinal pathologies: a mini-open, lateral approach in the thoracic and lumbar spine

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective registry.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine patient outcomes using a mini-open, lateral approach for the treatment of traumatic thoracic and lumbar fractures.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

The high-quality published studies that examine treatment methods for acute traumatic thoracic and lumbar fractures are few and a few that are present contain insufficient samples to make broad conclusions. Despite this, we know that conventional surgical techniques often include large, morbid exposures. More recent advancements in less invasive surgical techniques have greatly decreased the associated morbidities of conventional approaches, namely, thoracotomy.

METHODS

A total of 52 patients were treated at 1 of 2 institutions for traumatic thoracic or lumbar fractures with a mini-open lateral approach for corpectomy. Patients were prospectively followed for clinical outcomes, with treatment and in-hospital complications collected retrospectively.

RESULTS

The majority of patients (94.2%) presented with traumatic burst fractures with instability and neurologic deficit. Patients were treated with mini-open, lateral corpectomies from T7 to L4, the majority at T12 and L1, and were followed 2 years after surgery. Supplemental internal fixation was used in all patients: 75% anterolateral plating and 46.1% transpedicular fixation (11 [21.2%] patients with combined). Median operative time, estimated blood loss, and hospital stay were 128 minutes, 300 mL, and 4 days, respectively. Complications were observed in 13.5% of patients and no reoperations occurred. Neurologic status, assessed using American Spinal Injury Association categorization, improved significantly postoperatively, with 73% of patients either completely neurologically intact or with only slight residual deficits (American Spinal Injury Association E or D). No patient experienced neurologic deterioration. Expandable wide-footprint titanium cages were used in 34.6% of patients, which resisted radiographic subsidence seen in some patients treated with expandable cylindrical titanium cages.

CONCLUSION

The mini-open lateral approach for thoracic and lumbar corpectomy was shown to be safe and effective in this series while avoiding many of the associated morbidities of thoracotomies for anterior column reconstruction and open posterior approaches.