Guohua Lü, Bing Wang, Jing Li, Weidong Liu, Ivan Cheng


March 2012, Volume 21, Issue 3, pp 463 - 469 Original Article Read Full Article 10.1007/s00586-011-2038-5

First Online: 14 October 2011

Introduction

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been developed for surgical treatment of thoracic spinal tuberculosis to overcome the problems associated with a formal thoracotomy. VATS, however, is technically demanding with a difficult learning curve.

Materials and methods

We conducted a retrospective long-term follow-up study of anterior debridement and reconstruction via a thoracoscopy-assisted mini-open approach for the surgical treatment of thoracic spinal tuberculosis. There were 50 patients collected with mean age 38.3 years with thoracic spinal tuberculosis.

Results

The average operative time was 210 min (range 170–300 min), the average blood loss during operation was 550 ml (range 300–1,000 ml), and the mean chest drainage duration was 3.5 days (3–5 days). Complications occurred in 17 patients (34%). The mean follow-up was 6.5 years. There was statistically difference in VAS 3 months after surgery compared to preoperatively (P 

Conclusion

Thoracoscopy-assisted mini-open approach can provide a simple, safe, and practical treatment option with minimal invasiveness in cases of thoracic spinal tuberculosis. Successful clinical and radiographic outcomes can be achieved via anterior debridement and reconstruction at long-term follow-up.


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