Two times unlucky: treatment of repeated adjacent vertebral fractures following posterolateral interbody fusion.

Posterolateral interbody fusion with cages and posterior fixation is a widespread, accepted method in the treatment of lumbar instability with and without spinal stenosis. Adjacent level instability was occasionally detected in the neighbouring discs. A fracture of the adjacent vertebral body including the upper disc was not reported in the literature. The authors describe a case of a female patient with two time fractures in the adjacent levels-nontraumatic and traumatic-after posterolateral fusion. Recommendations regarding the operative treatment were given.