Reduction and Stabilization of an Extension-Distraction Injury in a Patient with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Abstract

CASE: The authors reported a case of an 83-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis throughout the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine who sustained a three-column T10 osteoligamentous extension-distraction injury after low-energy trauma. A closed reduction was performed using incremental flexion on a variable flexion-extension table and subsequent stabilization with robotic-assisted percutaneous pedicle screw placement. Postoperative radiographs at 7-month follow-up showed intact implants with adequate alignment with the patient remaining at neurological baseline. CONCLUSION: A closed reduction method using a variable flexion-extension table with stabilization through percutaneous pedicle screw placement is a safe and appropriate method to achieve spinal realignment in select patients.