Surgical treatment of lumbar spondylodiscitis: a comparison of two methods.

PurposeThis study evaluates two basic hypotheses: (1) the risk of an isolated dorsal approach to ventral lumbar spondylodiscitis based on clinical and radiographic results and (2) the risk of anterior radical debridement due to using a titanium implant in the site of bone infection.MethodsGroup A consisting of 23 patients was treated only by a dorsal transmuscular approach and group B consisting of eight patients was treated by two-stage posteroanterior surgery. Both evaluated groups were assessed before surgery, six weeks and one year after surgery with the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Kirkaldy-Willis functional criteria. To evaluate the sagittal balance restoration, measurement by the Cobb modified angle of the affected segment was performed.ResultsDifferences (p ConclusionsThe results demonstrate the minimum serious surgical complications and greater loss of sagittal balance without clinical correlation in group A. We did not find any relapse or persistence of the infection in the post-operative period in group B.