A pedicle screw in the descending thoracic aorta: a surgical approach

Abstract

Figure 1: (A) Orthopaedic surgery was performed due to the extremely spine curvature, which consisted in insertion of two longitudinal rods and 10 pedicle expander screws and decompression of the spinal cord. Three months later, chronic back pain occurred. (B) Twenty months after the first procedure and because of persistent symptoms, a computed tomographic scan was performed and showed that the left screw placed in T6 was protruding into the descending thoracic aorta without pleural effusion and periaortic haematoma (C).