Spine Trauma
A 28-year-old man is brought to the emergency department after a motorcycle accident. He has back pain and bilateral leg numbness with weakness. CT scan shows an L1 burst fracture with greater than 50% canal compromise and kyphosis of 25 degrees. MRI shows complete disruption of the posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) with interspinous widening, and the patient has ASIA C neurological status (motor function present but less than 3/5 in more than half of key muscles below the injury level). Regarding thoracolumbar fractures:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
The thoracolumbar junction (T11-L2) is the most commonly injured spinal segment due to the transitio...
AO Spine classification: Type A (compression) - vertebral body compression without tension band fail...
The thoracolumbar junction is rarely injured; the anterior column includes the posterior vertebral b...
Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score (TLICS) guides treatment: morphology (compres...
Burst fractures (Type A3/A4) involve both anterior and middle columns with retropulsion of bone into...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option