ZHAN Xinli,XIAO Zengming,HE Maolin.Anterior transsternal or anteriorlateral transthoracic approach for upper thoracic vertebral tuberculosis[J].Chinese Journal of Spine and Spinal Cord,2009,(11):808-812.
Anterior transsternal or anteriorlateral transthoracic approach for upper thoracic vertebral tuberculosis
Received:October 13, 2009  LastModifyTime
English Keywords:Upper thoracic spine tuberculosis  Anterior transsternal approach  Anteriorlateral high transthoracic approach
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Author NameAffiliation
ZHAN Xinli Department of Spine & Osteopathythe First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical UniversityNanning530021China 
XIAO Zengming  
HE Maolin  
陈前芬  
宫德峰  
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English Abstract:
  【Abstract】 Objective:To investigate the surgical protocol and its clinical outcome of anterior transsternal or anteriorlateral transthoracic approach for upper thoracic vertebral tuberculosis(T1-T4).Method:A total of 26 patients with upper thoracic tuberculosis from June 2000 to December 2008 were reviewed retrospectively.Of these,16 cases aged from 37 to 72 years old(mean,48.6 years old) underwent one-stage transsternal debridement,decompression,bone graft and instrumentation(group A).There were 2 patients of Frankel grade A,1 of grade B,2 of grade C,6 of grade D and 5 of grade E.The kyphosis Cobb′s angle ranged from 15° to 40°(mean,22°±3.5°).Another 10 cases aged from 33 to 69 years old(mean,45.3 years old) experienced debridement,decompression,bone graft and instrumentation by anteriorlateral high transthoracic approach(group B).There were 1 patient of Frankel grade A,1 of grade B,1 of grade C,4 of grade D and 3 of grade E.The kyphosis Cobb′s angle ranged from 13° to 39°(mean,21°±3.7°).Result:All patients in two groups experienced surgery successfully.For group A,good field exposure and complete lesion clearance were ensured,the operation time was 120-150min and the intraoperative blood loss was 300-600ml.One patient was complicated with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and healed two weeks after operation.The kyphosis Cobb′s angle after operation was 10°-25°(mean,17°±2.5°).All patients in group A were followed up for 6-72 months,at final follow-up,1 patient of grade A improved to grade D,1 patient of grade B improved to grade C,2 patients of grade C improved to grade D,4 patients of grade D improved to grade E,while no change was noted in other patients.For group B,unsatisfactory contrallateral exposure and lesion clearance occurred,the operation time was 150-220min and the blood loss was 500-900ml.One patient had injury to thoracic duct which healed two weeks postoperatively.Scapular joint malfunction was noted in all patients of group B.The mean Cobb′s angle as for kyphosis correction was 9°-24°(mean,16°±2.3°).The patients were followed up for 12-96 months,at final follow-up,1 patient of grade A improved to grade C,1 patient of grade B improved to grade C,1 patient of grade C improved to grade D,4 patients of grade D improved to grade E,while no change was noted in other patients.During the follow-up,all cases healed without any tuberculosis recurrence,and no pull-out and breakage of screws or plates were noted.Spinal union occurred at 3-6 months(mean,4.4 months) postoperatively.Conclusion:Anterior transsternal approach can provide excellent access to the upper thoracic tuberculosis and is less invasive compared with anteriorlateral high transthoracic approach.
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