Researchers examined 23 patients who sustained combat-related lumbosacral dissociations who were either treated with no fixation, sacroiliac screw fixation, posterior spinal fusion or a sacral plate.
There was no difference in visual analog scale between treatment modalities. Two open injuries had residual infections and one patient with an L4 ilium posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation required infection-related instrumentation removal. After a mean follow-up of 1.71 years, 48 percent of the patients still reported residual pain.
Read the abstract about operative stabilization after lumbosacral dissociation.
Read other coverage on spine surgery:
– Spine Surgery in 2011 and Beyond: 7 Points About the Future of Spine Surgery
– 5 Points on Cervical Spine Surgery
– Spine Surgery Research Update: Biologics in Spine Surgery
