• BACKGROUND
    • The impact of fusion as a supplement to short-segment instrumentation for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures is unclear. We conducted a controlled clinical trial to define the effect of fusion on lumbar spine and patient-related functional outcomes.
  • METHODS
    • From 2000 to 2002, seventy-three consecutive patients with a single-level Denis type-B burst fracture involving the thoracolumbar spine and a load-sharing score of
  • RESULTS
    • No significant difference in radiographic or clinical outcomes was noted between the patients managed with the two techniques. Both operative time and blood loss were significantly less in the nonfusion group compared with the fusion group (p < 0.05). Twenty-five of the thirty-seven patients in the fusion group still had some degree of donor-site pain at the time of the latest examination.
  • CONCLUSIONS
    • Posterolateral bone-grafting is not necessary when a Denis type-B thoracolumbar burst fracture associated with a load-sharing score of