Anterior radical debridement and interbody autografting with internal fixation for the treatment of thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of radical debridement and spinal fusion with internal fixation and to discuss the safety of anterior instrumentation in surgical management in thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis.Methods:There were 16 cases in this series.The mean age was 45 years.16 cases of thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis were radical focus debrided and grafted with iliac bone.8 cases were fixed with TSRH,3 cases with Ventrofix and 5 cases with Z-plate.No brace was needed after surgery.Results:The period of follow-up lasted 19 months.All patients had good results.The incision of all cases were cured for the first term.No case had sinus.13 degree of the kyphosis deformity was improved without associated complication.All patients had no recurrence of tuberculosis.Conclusion:The results show that the radical focal debridement and anterior bone transplantation with internal fixation can reconstruct the spinal stability and it is safe to implant anterior instrumentation in tuberculosis foci.