Biomechanics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Biomechanics, including details on mechanics of living organisms, movement, locomotion, prosthetic limbs.

Biomechanical in vitro comparison of different mono- and bisegmental anterior procedures with regard to the strategy for fracture stabilisation using minimally invasive techniques.

Schultheiss M, Hartwig E, Sarkar M, Kinzl L, Claes L, Wilke HJ

Department of Trauma, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Ulm, Steinhövelstrasse 9, 89075 Ulm, Germany. markus.schultheiss@medizin.uni-ulm.de

Endoscopic minimally invasive techniques have become an established method of fracture stabilisation in the spine. In view of this fact, anterior stabilisation strategies must be reconsidered, as monosegmental A 3.1 compression fractures are increasingly being stabilised endoscopically from the anterior aspect using minimally invasive techniques. This study investigated the biomechanical necessity of anterior two-point or four-point stabilisation in the instrumentation of mono- and bisegmental fractures. In three biomechanical in vitro studies, burst fracture stabilisation was simulated, and anterior short fixation devices were tested under load with pure moments up to 3.75 Nm to evaluate the biomechanical stabilising characteristics of different kinds of instrumentations in flexion/extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. Only anterior four-point stabilisation resulted in sufficient primary stability both in mono- and bisegmental instrumentation and therefore represents the standard procedure in open as well as in minimally invasive spinal surgery.

Published 3 February 2006 in Eur Spine J, 15(1): 82-9.
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