Traumatic thoracic spine spondyloptosis treated with spondylectomy and fusion

BACKGROUND: There are multiple surgical treatment options for traumatic thoracic spine spondyloptosis, a three-column spinal injury typically attributed to high-energy trauma. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 20-year-old male presented with back deformity attributed to a fall. On neurological examination, he had complete spinal cord injury below the T6 level. Magnetic resonance and computed tomography imaging documented a T8 vertebral fracture and complete T7/T8 spondyloptosis. Six days following admission, he underwent a single posterior procedure consisting of a T8 spondylectomy and instrumented fusion from T5 to T11. The patient was mobilized in a wheelchair on the 3(rd) postoperative day and was discharged on the 11(th) day following admission. Three months later, the surgical construct was fused and the patient's neurological status remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: Here we present a patient who following a fall sustained a T7/T8 spondyloptosis resulting in paraplegia treated with a single posterior T8 spondylectomy with T5–T11 instrumented fusion.