Thoracoscopic-assisted treatment of thoracic and lumbar fractures: A series of 371 consecutive cases

OBJECTIVE: Conventional approaches for the treatment of thoracic and thoracolumbar fractures require extensive surgical exposure, often leading to significant postoperative pain and morbidity. Thoracoscopic spinal surgery was performed to reduce the morbidity of these approaches while still achieving the primary goals of spinal decompression; reconstruction, stabilization. METHODS: Between May 1996 and May 2001, 371 patients with fractures of the thoracic and thoracolumbar spine (T3-L3) were treated with a thoracoscopically assisted procedure. In the first 197 patients, a conventional open anterior plating system was used. The last 174 patients were treated with the MACS-TL system (Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany), which was designed specifically for endoscopic placement, thereby significantly reducing operative times. RESULTS: Seventy three percent of the fractures were located at the thoracolumbar junction. In 49% of patients, mobilization of the diaphragm was performed to expose the fracture, with later repair. Both x-ray canal compromise and neural deficit were present in 15% of patients. In 35% of patients, a stand-alone anterior thoracoscopic screw construct was also placed either before or after the anterior construct. A steep learning curve was present, with an average operating time of 300 minutes in the first 50% of cases and an average of 180 minutes with the MACS-TL system. The severe complication rate was low (1.3%), with one case each of aortic injury, splenic contusion, neurological deterioration, cerebrospinal fluid leak, and severe wound infection. Compared with a group of 30 patients treated with open thoracotomy, thoracoscopically treated patients required 42% less narcotics for pain treatment after the operation. CONCLUSION: A complete anterior thoracoscopically assisted reconstruction of thoracic and thoracolumbar fractures can be safely and effectively accomplished, thereby reducing the pain and morbidity associated with conventional thoracotomy and thoracic and thoracolumbar fractures can be safely and effectively accomplished, thereby reducing the pain and morbidity associated with conventional thoracotomy and thoracolumbar approaches. Although the learning, curve is steep, the functional and cosmetic benefits to the patient warrant the difficult training process.