Summary
Encroachment upon the spinal canal, separation of the pedicles, associated fractures of thee laminae are assumed to be related to dural lacerations consequent to burst fractures of the thoracolumbar spine. Owing to the possible occurrence of early or delayed complications of meningeal discontinuations, the predictive value of these signs has been analyzed in a consecutive series of 50 patients, who were submitted to surgery. Dural tears were found to occur at a rate of 60%, without any statistically significant relation with any of the examined signs. The results were not consistent with the thesis that lacerations of the dura can be predicted on the basis of radiological signs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benzel EC, Larson SJ (1986) Functional recovery after decompressive operation or thoracic and lumbar spine fractures. Neurosurgery 19: 772–778
Cammisa FP, Eismont FJ, Green BA (1989) Dural laceration occuring with burst fractures and associated laminar fractures. Bone J Surg (Am) 71: 1044–1052
Cook WA, Hardaker WT (1985) Injuries to the thoracic and lumbar spine. In: Wilkins RM,et al (eds) Neurosurgery. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 1735–1743
Denis F (1983) The three column spine and its significance in the classification of acute thoracolumbar injuries. Spine 8: 817–831
Dunsker SB (1988) Discussion on lumbar burst fracture. J Spinal Disord 1: 177–178
Jelsma RK, Kirsch PT, Jelsma LF, Ramsey WC, Rice JF (1982) Surgical treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. Surg Neurol 18: 156–166
Jelsma RK, Kirsch PT, Jelsma LF, Rice JF (1982) The radiographic description of thoracolumbar fractures. Surg Neurol 18: 230–236
Karlstrom S, Olerud S, Sjostrom L (1988) Transpedicular segmental fixation: description of a new procedure. Orthopedics 11: 689–700
Lesoin F, Bouasakao N, Cama A, Lores J, Combelles J, Jomin M (1982) Post traumatic fixation of the thoracolumbar spine using Roy-Camille plates. Surg Neurol 18: 167–173
Miller CA, Dewey RC, Hunt WE (1980) Impaction fracture of the lumbar vertebrae with dural tear. J Neurosurg 53: 765–771
Osaka K, Handa H, Watanabe H (1981) Traumatic intrathoracic meningocele (traumatic subarachnoid-pleural fistula). Surg Neurol 15: 137–140
Pickett J, Blumenkopf B (1989) Dural lacerations and thoracolumbar fractures. J Spinal Disord 2: 99–103
Rawlings CE, Nashold BS (1989) Traumatic extradural spinal cysts: a case report and review of the literature. Br J Neurosurg 3: 403–408
Schmidek HH, Jones FB, Seligson D, McSherry JW (1980) Management of acute unstable thoracolumbar (T11-L1) fractures with and without neurological deficit. Neurosurgery 7: 30–35
Shuman WP, Rogers JW, Sickler ME (1985) Thoracolumbar burst fractures: CT dimensions of the spinal canal relative to postsurgical improvement. AJR 145: 337–341
Silvestro C, Francaviglia N, Bragazzi R, Piatelli S, Viale GL (1991) On the predictive value of radiological signs for the presence of dural lacerations related to fractures of the lower thoracic or lumbar spine. J Spinal Disord 4: 49–53
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pau, A., Silvestro, C. & Carta, F. Can lacerations of the thoraco-lumbar dura be predicted on the basis of radiological patterns of the spinal fractures?. Acta neurochir 129, 186–187 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01406502
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01406502