Surgical management by one-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation for lumbo-sacral tuberculosis in the aged

Abstract

To evaluate the clinical study efficacy and feasibility of 17 aged patients with lumbo-sacral tuberculosis treated by one-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation. 17 aged patients who suffered from lumbo-sacral tuberculosis were admitted into our hospital between March 2003 and October 2010. All of them were treated by one-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation. Then the clinical efficacy with statistical analysis was evaluated based on the materials on the lumbo-sacral angle, neurological status that was recorded by Frankel grade system, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), which were collected at certain time. The average follow-up period was 47.5±17.1months (17-71months), In the 17 cases, no postoperative complications related to instrumentation occurred and neurologic function was improved in various degrees. The mean preoperative lumbo-sacral angle was 20.5°±1.7° (range 18.0°-23.0°). The lumbo-sacral angle became 29.1°±1.5° (range 26.4°-31.0°) postoperatively. The average pretreatment ESR was 57.4±16.8mm/h (33-95mm/h), which got normal (9.2±3.1mm/h) within 3months in all patients. All patients got bony fusion within 6-8months after surgery. One-stage posterior transforaminal lumbar debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation can be an effective treatment method for the treatment of lumbo-sacral tuberculosis in the aged patients.