Researchers investigated the outcomes of minimal access spinal surgery in managing infectious spondylitis and compared the results to traditional anterior spinal surgery, with a minimum follow-up of two years, and published the results in The Spine Journal.
Here are five things to know about the study and the results.
1. The study found that in comparison to traditional anterior spinal surgery, minimal access spinal surgery resulted in a reduced blood transfusion amount, decreased intensive care unit stay, reduced overall length of stay and reduced surgical complication rate. However, the study authors note that the risks may be increased in performing minimal access spinal surgery on patients with multilevel involvement.
2. The study was designed as a retrospective comparative cohort study in a single center. Forty patients with thoracic or lumbar infectious spondylitis who underwent anterior spinal surgery were enrolled. There were 23 minimal access spinal surgery patients and 17 traditional anterior spinal surgery patients.
3. The study found that the overall complication rate in the minimal access spinal surgery group was 17 percent versus 59 percent in the traditional anterior spinal surgery group. No major complications occurred in the minimal access spinal surgery group, whereas four occurred in the traditional surgery group. Also, one patient in the traditional surgery group had pseudarthrosis and needed a posterior instrumented fusion.
4. Traditional anterior spinal surgery for the thoracolumbar spine is associated with significant morbidities, and minimal access spinal surgery was developed to avoid excessive tissue damage. No previous reports comparing the outcomes of the two procedures for the treatment of infectious spondylitis were noted in the literature, to the authors' knowledge.
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