Which one could be managed? Commentary on an article by Po-Hsin Chou, MD, et al.: "fusion may not be a necessary procedure for surgically treated burst fractures of the thoracolumbar and lumbar spines. a follow-up of at least ten years".

Abstract

The goal in the treatment of traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures is to stabilize the spine to prevent short and long-term deformity and neurologic deficit while improving the clinical outcome of the patient. A number of studies have shown the clinical results of both operative and nonoperative treatments for these spinal traumatic fractures1-4, but there is a lack of consensus with regard to the ideal operative treatment for these injuries. This lack of consensus is due to various types of thoracolumbar fractures and limited long-term data on clinical outcome and complications in the various types of surgical treatments. Some of the coauthors of the article by Chou and colleagues previously reported the short-term results (with an average follow-up period of forty-one months) of their prospective randomized study comparing fusion with non-fusion short-segment posterior fixation for burst fractures of the thoracolumbar or lumbar spine5. The results of that study showed several advantages of the non-fusion technique, …