Spontaneous Corpectomy and Anterior Arthrodesis in Lumbar Spine : How Ankylosing Spondylitis Can Resolve a Vertebral Fracture

Abstract

.Between the 80% and 90% of vertebral fractures in over 65 years people are due to osteoporosis. Over the 30% of patients affected by vertebral osteoporosis fractures needs of surgical treatment and the 12% presents complications requiring an invasive surgical approach. We report an unusual case of spontaneous corpectomy and anterior arthrodesis occurred in a patient suffering from Ankylosing Spondylitis. This event invites us to reflect about the magnitude of the biological power of the bone healing, even in adverse conditions.

<p>Dorsal and ventral thoracic 12 vertebra body height is associated with incident lumbar vertebral fracture in postmenopausal osteoporotic women</p>

“…[1][2][3][4][5] The ability to predict risk factors for LVF is crucial because of the negative consequences of LVF that include chronic back pain, related functional disability, kyphosis, and height loss, all of which have major impacts on a patient's quality-of-life; as well as the associated increases in morbidity and mortalitiy. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Analysis of bone mineral density (BMD) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is the most commonly used index of bone power, and a low BMD is the most important risk factor for LVF prediction. [21][22][23][24] But, almost 50% of LVF occurs in patients with BMD above the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnosis threshold of osteoporosis (T-score#2.5).…”