Rizwan Masood Butt, Manzoor Ahmed, Abdullah Haroon, Ashraf Shaheen, Cain Bashir, Attiue Rehman, Farukh, Asma Gilani, Azam Niaz, Nazir Ahmed.
Anterior cage fixation for dorsal spine injuries - one year study.
Proceeding Shaikh Zayed Postgrad Med Inst Jan ;20(1):21-6.

This study was conducted during the year 2004 at Lahore General Hospital, Unit 1, department of Neurosurgery. We operated on 37 patients for thoracic cage interbody fixation after trauma. Age range was from 15 to 70 years. Maximum number of cases (41%) was between 21-30 years of age. Male involvement was seen in 29 (79%) patients. Majority (65%) belonged to rural community and agriculture and industry were the major setup of injury. Majority belonged to poor socioeconomic class i.e., 83% (31). Level of injury was 37% upper dorsal spine, Main fracture types were burst fractures, compression fractures and fracture dislocations. Correction of deformity was achieved in majority of cases. Associated chest injuries were seen in 28% cases. Timing of surgery was as early as possible but it ranged from 2 hours to as long as 3 months. Neurological deficit ranged from complete paraplegia to power grade 4. Complications of the procedure are cage displacement in 6%, loosening in 5% and infection in 8%. Neurological statu s improved in 88% while kyphosis improvement occurred in 77% of the patients. Anterior cage fixation is a safe and effective treatment method for traumatic dorsal spine instability involving vertebral bodies.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com