Management of traumatic double-level spondyloptosis of the thoracic spine with posterior spondylectomy: case report

Abstract

Traumatic spondyloptosis of the thoracic spine is an uncommon injury. In most cases, spondyloptosis is confined to one vertebral body, whereas double-level spondyloptosis is extremely rare. Most patients who sustain traumatic spondyloptosis immediately become paraplegic, but in some cases neurological function is preserved. If this occurs, it is due to detachment of the pedicles from the corresponding vertebral body, resulting in spontaneous decompression of neural elements. Herein, the authors describe a case of undetected traumatic double-level spondyloptosis in the upper thoracic region in an adult male patient who was neurologically intact for 2 days but later became paraplegic. Initially, management of this pathology seemed a very challenging scenario. However, with review of the reconstructed CT images and reproduction of the injury on a plastic model, a posterior-only approach was chosen as an alternative operative solution for this catastrophic injury. Via this single-stage posterior approach, long-segment pedicle screw/rod instrumentation resulted in successful reduction, restoration of alignment, and stabilization after 1-level posterior spondylectomy. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first example reported in the literature of double-level spondyloptosis of the thoracic and the lumbar spine. This report describes the rationale, mechanism, and technical details afforded for reduction and stabilization of this rare injury.