Percutaneous management of thoracolumbar burst fractures: Evolution of techniques and strategy

SummaryIntroductionA number of techniques have been described in the management of thoracolumbar spinal fractures, testimony to the absence of consensus on their treatment. For the past few years, minimally invasive techniques have been developed to limit surgery-related iatrogenic injury. The objective of this study was to report the results of percutaneous management of these lesions and the technical progress made based on our experience.Patients and methodsTwenty-nine patients presenting an A3 fracture, with a mean age of 51 years, were included in this study. All had a balloon kyphoplasty and percutaneous osteosynthesis. Of the first 22 cases, kyphoplasty was the initial procedure performed associated with reduction maneuvers using distraction. Assessment was clinical (neurological status and pain intensity) and radiological (implant positioning, cement leakage, restoration of local kyphosis and any loss of correction).ResultsIn the overall series, the mean local kyphosis correction was 11° with a 2° angle loss at the last follow-up. Pain assessment showed significant improvement, decreasing from 6/10 to 1/10 on discharge. The mean hospital stay lasted 4 days. On the follow-up radiological exams, no cases of extrapedicular screw migration were noted; in two cases, lateral cement leakage was found. The results were equivalent in terms of correction no matter which procedure was performed first, although for the second part of the series the technology was available to bend the spinal fixation rod to the desired curve.DiscussionThe results of this study support the growing interest in minimally invasive techniques in the management of spinal injuries with no neurological deficit. In addition, the evolving material makes it possible to come close to conventional techniques, including reduction maneuvers, while limiting muscle injury by using a purely percutaneous approach. Rigorous patient selection is necessary and the time to learn the procedure must be taken into account. Studies with a longer follow-up are required to confirm the stability of the correction over time.Level of evidenceLevel IV. Retrospective observational study

Anterior minimally invasive extrapleural retroperitoneal approach to the thoraco-lumbar junction of the spine

SummaryBackgroundThe anterior approach to the thoraco-lumbar junction of the spine allows therapeutic interventions on post-traumatic, infectious, and neoplastic vertebral lesions from T11 to L2 combining spinal cord decompression, corporectomy, and vertebral body fusion. However, this approach also has a reputation for damaging the intervening anatomic structures (lungs, peritoneum, and diaphragm). The objective of this study was to show that both nervous structure decompression and anterior vertebral reconstruction can be achieved via an anterior minimally invasive extrapleural retroperitoneal (AMIER) approach.MaterialWe describe each of the steps of the AMIER approach to the thoraco-lumbar junction of the spine.ResultsThe AMIER approach ensures excellent exposure that allows full decompression and satisfactory anterior anatomic reconstruction. The main difficulties and complications relate to the lungs, and a painstaking and rigorous technique limits the complications compared to conventional thoraco-phreno-lumbotomy

Craniosynostosis and oculomotor disorders

International audienc

Multisurgical approach for recurrent fetus-in-fetu of the skull

Foetus in fetu is a rare tumor of the child. CT and/or MRI suggest this diagnosis. Differential diagnosis with mature multicellular teratoma can be difficult. Here we reported the case of a girl born at 37 weeks, that presented a voluminous mastoïd mass on the left side treatment by initially by surgery. Until age of 9 years, she developed a tumor recurrence localized at the skull base near the left cerebello ponting angle requiring a neurosurgical approach with a good following. The pathology was finally a teratoma. Total removal must be a goal of the initial surgical treatment but a long term follow up is mandatory to avoid recurrence

A child dural-based occipital cavernoma with an accessory venous sinus

International audienc

Perioperative management of facial bipartition surgery

Marco Caruselli,1 Michael Tsapis,1,2 Fabrice Ughetto,1 Gregoire Pech-Gourg,3 Dario Galante,4 Olivier Paut1 1Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, La Timone Children’s Hospital, 2Pediatric Transport Team, SAMU 13, La Timone Hospital, 3Pediatric Neurosurgery Unit, La Timone Children’s Hospital, Marseille, France; 4Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital Ospedali Riuniti of Foggia, Foggia, Italy Abstract: Severe craniofacial malformations, such as Crouzon, Apert, Saethre-Chotzen, and Pfeiffer syndromes, are very rare conditions (one in 50,000/100,000 live births) that often require corrective surgery. Facial bipartition is the more radical corrective surgery. It is a high-risk intervention and needs complex perioperative management and a multidisciplinary approach. Keywords: craniofacial surgery, facial bipartition surgery, craniofacial malformations, pediatric anesthesi

Complicated trifocal mandibular fracture in a child

International audienc

Tuberculose intramédullaire. À propos d’un cas

Les manifestations neurologiques de la tuberculose restent rares, même si ces dernières années ont été marquées par une augmentation de ces pathologies, du fait, notamment, de la pandémie du VIH. Le tuberculome intramédullaire reste une localisation exceptionnelle. Nous rapportons ici le cas d’un patient adulte non séropositif pour le virus VIH et non immunodéprimé présentant un tuberculome intramédullaire, découvert devant un tableau de compression médullaire lente. Nous discuterons le diagnostic radiologique, la nécessité ou non d’un traitement chirurgical, ainsi que les suites cliniques et, notamment, fonctionnelles. Notre expérience nous porte à croire que l’approche combinée de la chirurgie et de l’antibiothérapie paraît être la meilleure alternative