Better treatment of vertebral osteomyelitis using posterior stabilization and titanium mesh cages

Hwan T. Hee, Mohammad E. Majd, Richard T. Holt, David Pienkowski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

146 Scopus citations

Abstract

There is no scientific consensus on the role of posterior instrumentation in vertebral osteomyelitis. No study has examined the use of titanium cages to reconstruct the anterior column of the spine with vertebral osteomyelitis. Here the authors evaluated the efficacy of using titanium mesh cages anteriorly and posterior instrumentation after anterior debridement in the surgical treatment of vertebral osteomyelitis. In one center, 21 consecutive patients had surgery for vertebral osteomyelitis. The mean follow-up time was 67 months (range, 24 to 120 months). Ten patients received supplemental posterior instrumentation. Five patients had reconstruction of the anterior column with titanium cages. Greater improvement in sagittal alignment was noted for patients with cages implanted (p = 0.0009) and for those with posterior instrumentation (p = 0.005). Patients who received cages had greater (p = 0.0006) correction of their coronal alignment than did those patients without cages. A trend toward fewer postoperative complications emerged for patients who had posterior stabilization or titanium cages. These results support the use of posterior stabilization and titanium cages in the surgical treatment of vertebral osteomyelitis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-156
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques
Volume15
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2002

Keywords

  • Bony fusion
  • Coronal alignment
  • Posterior stabilization
  • Sagittal alignment
  • Titanium cages
  • Vertebral osteomyelitis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Clinical Neurology

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