The researchers examined 75 consecutive patients in a retrospective cohort study who underwent treatment for a single-level destructive thoracolumbar lesion at one of two centers from 2009 to 2013. The procedures were:
• Mini-open transpedicular corpectomy
• Conventional open transpedicular corpectomy
• Combined posterior-anterior approach
There was an average follow-up of 25 months. The researchers found:
1. All three techniques had comparable visual analogue scale scores for thoracolumbar pain and SF-12 physical and mental scores.
2. Radiological outcomes were comparable with currently available data.
3. There was an average seven day intensive care unit stay.
4. Hospital stays were 15 days on average with the combined posterior-anterior approach.
5. The average total cost was around €20,952.
The researchers concluded, “Using the posterior approach only was the most cost-effective technique, but the mini open was comparable with the conventional open transpedicular approach.”
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