Objective.To analyze clinical efficiency of initially stable anterior load-bearing interbody fusion in treatment of thoracic and lumbar spine injuries. Material and Methods. Anterior interbody fusion for thoracic and lumbar spine injury was performed in 86 patients. Out of them 48 patients underwent fusion with cylindrical porous NiTi implants (control group), and 38 patients -initially stable anterior load-bearing interbody fusion (study group). Patients of both groups were matched by age, sex, and injury nature and localization. Clinical and neurological examinations were supplemented by spondylography in coronal and lateral projections in all patients. CT and MRI studies of the injured spinal motion segment were performed to specify the nature of injury. Results. Good treatment results were achieved in 32 (100 %) patients from the study group and in 34 (87.2 %) patients from the control group, and satisfactory result -in 5 (12.8 %) patients from the control group. Suggested method of initially stable load-bearing anterior fusion allowed preventing the implant migration in patients with thoracic and lumbar spine injuries of types A2, A3, B1, and B2 (AO/ASIF classification) and avoiding repeat surgical intervention. Conclusion. Clinical application of initially stable load-bearing anterior fusion proved its high efficiency, allowed preventing the implant migration and avoiding external immobilization even in cases of unstable injury, without increasing surgery time duration and blood loss volume.

No abstract

No abstract