Changes in quantitative elastography assessment of the adjacent lumbar disc after segmental fixation of the spine: a case description of a burst fracture of L4

[摘要] Vertebral burst fractures are usually due to traumatic highenergy distraction of the vertebra. They often requirepedicle screw fixation to stabilize the spine during thehealing process but once the fusion of the fracturedvertebra has occurred, the posterior fixation can be removedor shortened to restore part of the spinal mobility. Theimportance of sparing fusion levels to ensure optimalfunctional results has been demonstrated (1,2). In surgicalplanning, the rule is therefore to ensure the osteosynthesisstability while limiting the number of levels included.Immobilization or fixation of a vertebral segment may beresponsible for degeneration of the intervertebral disc and incase of surgical treatment the adjacent disc (3,4). Therefore,we can ask whether removal of a vertebral fixation coulddecrease the stress on adjacent segments (5). Ultrasoundshearwave elastography is a new innovative and noninvasive technique allowing evaluation of soft tissue’s elasticmodulus through the measurement of shear wave speed(SWS). This non-invasive imaging method has shown itsadded value in breast (6) or in liver oncology (7) and, morerecently, in musculoskeletal pathologies assessment (8).

[学科分类] 外科医学