Benefit and accuracy of intraoperative 3D-imaging after pedicle screw placement: a prospective study in stabilizing thoracolumbar fractures

Abstract

Internal fixation is the established dorsal standard procedure for the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. The main problem of the procedure is the false positioning of the pedicle screws. The exact determination of pedicle screws has up to now only been possible through postoperative computed tomography. This study was intended to clarify the diagnostic value of intraoperative 3D scans after pedicle screw implantation in thoracolumbar spine surgery. The direct intraoperative consequences of the 3D scans are reported and the results of the 3D scans are compared with the postoperative computed tomography images. Intraoperative 3D scans were prospectively carried out from June 2006 to October 2008 on 95 patients with fractures of the thoracolumbar spine that have been treated with internal fixation. Screws positions were categorised intraoperatively, screws in relevant malposition were repositioned immediately. A computed tomography of the involved spinal section was carried out postoperatively for all patients. The positions of the pedicle screws were determined and compared in the axial reconstructions of both procedures. Four hundred and fourteen pedicles with enclosed screws were evaluated by the 3D scans. The time needed for carrying out the 3D scan amounts to an average of 8.2 min. Eleven screws (2.7%) in ten patients were primarily intraoperatively repositioned on the basis of the 3D scan evaluation. Two of 95 patients had to have false positions of the screws revised secondarily following evaluation of the computed tomographies. The secondary postoperative revision rate of the patients amounts to 2.1%. In relation to the number of screws, this is a revision rate of 0.5%. The postoperative computed tomographies showed 323 pedicles without cortical penetration by the screws (78.0%). Ninety-one screws penetrated the pedicle wall (22%). It was possible to postoperatively compare the position classifications of 406 pedicle screws. The CT showed 378 correct screw positions, while 28 screws were positioned falsely. On the basis of the 3D scans, 376 of 378 correct positions were correctly assessed. Twenty-one of 28 false positions could be correctly classified. The sensitivity of all 3D scans reached 91.3% and the specificity 98.2%. The position of 97.8% of the pedicle screws was correctly recognised by the intraoperative 3D scan. Nine screws were classified falsely (2.2%). The comparison of the classification results showed significantly higher error findings by the 3D scan in the spinal section T1-10 (P = 0.014). The image quality of the 3D scan correlates significantly with the width of the scanned pedicle, with the body mass index, the scanned spinal section and the extent of the fixation assembly. 3D scans showed a high accuracy in predicting pedicle screw position. Primary false placement of screws and primary neurovascular damage cannot be avoided. But intraoperative evaluation of the 3D scans resulted in a primary revision rate of 2.7% of the pedicle screws and we could lower the secondary revis...

Accuracy of pedicle screw placement: a systematic review of prospective in vivo studies comparing free hand, fluoroscopy guidance and navigation techniques

“…In four of the seven studies [6,15,23,27] where fluoroscopy guidance was used, only lateral views were obtained intraoperatively to confirm screw placement. In two studies, both AP and lateral views were used [28,30], while 3D fluoroscopy was used in one study [20]. A total number of 240 spine levels were assessed among the included studies (range from 3 to 16 levels) ( Table 1).…”

Robotic versus fluoroscopy-guided pedicle screw insertion for metastatic spinal disease: a matched-cohort comparison

“…Image-guided systems are useful in helping achieve better implant accuracy and reduce the need for surgical revisions. 1,22 Additional methods such as conductivity measurement devices that detect cortical defects have equally proven useful in this respect. 2 Malposition rates with conventional screw placement can be significant.…”

CT-navigation versus fluoroscopy-guided placement of pedicle screws at the thoracolumbar spine: single center experience of 4,500 screws

“…Due to the lack of a generally accepted definition of ''screw misplacement'', a potpourri of post-instrumentation evaluation methods is reported and placement accuracies vary extremely [4][5][6]. In this context, we present a single center evaluation of two different instrumentation methods for the thoracolumbar spine after placement of 4,500 pedicle screws either with conventional fluoroscopy or under CT-navigation.…”