Clinical Studies of Tuberculosis of the Spine

During the period from January 1967 to December 1977, 244 cases of tuberculosis of the spine were operated on at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. We followed up 176 cases from 6 months to 10 years and the average period was one year and ten months. (Radical curettage and anterior interbody fusion 129 cases, posterior fusion 20 cases, curettage without bone graft 21 cases, and combined anterior and posterior fusion 6 cases.)

The results of those studies are as follows:

1) The incidence of Pott's-parplegia was 25% (61 cases) of the total cases.

2) Almost 41 cases (66%) of the total cases of Pott's parplegia have recovered well enough to return after operation to their previous work.

3) In children (below 15 years of age) 50 cases (87.7%) had satisfactory results with bony fusion and in adults 93 cases (94.9%).

4) In children 44 cases (77%) had healing of radiological activity after operation and in adults 104 cases (87%).

5) The younger the spine, the lower the fusion rate. Combined anterior and posterior fusion is the choice of treatment for tuberculosis of the spine in children.

6) Postoperative complications occured in 38 cases (16%) including wound infection, postoperative pneumonia, postoperative pneoumothorax, postoperative atelectasis, paralytic ileus, meningitis, cystitis, and failure in bone graft.