J Korean Fract Soc.  2004 Apr;17(2):184-190. 10.12671/jkfs.2004.17.2.184.

Bone & Soft Tissue Injuries Diagnosed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Thoracolumbar Fractures

• Kim YM
• Kim DS
• Choi ES
• Shon HC
• Park KJ
• Han GS
• Jeong JJ
• Jeong KI
• Kim YS

• KMID: 2184066
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12671/jkfs.2004.17.2.184

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assess diagnostic efficacy of the MRI in thoracolumbar fractures, especially in changes of bone and soft tissue which cannot be documented by other diagnostic tools.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Among 85 patients managed for thoracolumbar fractures between January 1997 and June 2003, MRI was performed in 30 patients to get more informations. Plain X-ray, CT and MRI of these cases were reviewed retrospectively by two orthopaedic spine surgeons and one radiologist to investigate the informations which only MRI could afford.
RESULTS
14 (46.7%) among 30 patients had occult fractures of vertebrae other than main fracture which had not been diagnosed as fractured. Besides 6 patients who showed distraction of posterior structure on plain X-ray, injury of posterior ligament complex was confirmed by MRI in 12(40%) patients. Additionally, MRI visualized other soft tissue injuries such as intramuscular and subcutaneous hematoma, changes of the spinal cord and intervertebral disc. In 16 among 30 patients, informations achieved from MRI were the most important factors in deciding treatment modality.
CONCLUSION
MRI seems to be efficient in visualizing not only soft tissue injury such as ligament but also occult fractures of additional vertebra in thoracolumbar fractures, therefore MRI seems to be an important diagnostic tool in decision of treatment modalities, especially in cases of uncertain stability.

Keyword

Thoracolumbar fracture; MRI; Occult fracture of other vertebra; Ligament and soft tissue injury

MeSH Terms

Fractures, Closed
Hematoma
Humans
Intervertebral Disc
Ligaments
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Retrospective Studies
Soft Tissue Injuries*
Spinal Cord
Spine