Open AccessANTERIOR FUSION OF THE SPINE FOR INFECTIVE LESIONS IN ADULTS
Author(s) -
H. B. S. Kemp,
John W. Jackson,
J. D. Jeremiah,
Josephine Cook
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of bone and joint surgery. british volume/the journal of bone and joint surgery. british volume
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0968-7300
pISSN - 0301-620X
DOI - 10.1302/0301-620x.55b4.715
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , chemotherapy , incidence (geometry) , isolation (microbiology) , bony fusion , spine (molecular biology) , biology , bioinformatics , radiography , physics , optics
1. The results of treatment of 117 tuberculous and fourteen other types of infection of the spine in adults by anterior fusion and chemotherapy have been reviewed. 2. It is suggested that anterior fusion is justified because: a) it permits isolation of the organism, and hence the determination of drug sensitivities and appropriate chemotherapy; b) removal of the diseased tissue and the stabilisation of the affected segment by iliac bone grafts can be effected, leading to rapid healing by bony fusion with little further collapse; c) rehabilitation of the patient is hastened; and d) the incidence of reactivation is probably diminished.