A clinical study of internal fixation, debridement and interbody thoracic fusion to treat thoracic tuberculosis via posterior approach only.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the clinical efficacy and feasibility of one-stage posterior internal fixation, debridement and interbody thoracic fusion in the treatment of thoracic tuberculosis.

METHODS

Sixty adult patients with monosegmental thoracic tuberculosis were studied retrospectively: 34 men and 26 women with an average age of 37.5 years. Operating time, blood loss, time in bed, complications, neurological function, rate of deformity correction and rate of interbody fusion were investigated.

RESULTS

All cases were followed up for 27.5 months on average. Average mean operating time was 251 min, evaluated blood loss during operation 780 ml, rate of kyphosis correction 79%, corrected kyphosis angle 25° and loss of corrected angle 1.2°. Patients whose neurological function improved accounted for 90.1%. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased to normal levels three months after operation. The rate of bone fusion was 100%, with a 100% cure rate. No severe complications or spinal cord injury occurred.

CONCLUSIONS

This approach can successfully remove the focus of tuberculosis with complete interbody thoracic fusion after operation, which restores spinal stability.