BACKGROUND: After fracture of lumbar vertebra, vertebral arch pedicle screw fixation has been widely used in clinic, but its safety and efficacy remains controversial.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and complication occurrence of screw internal fixation system in treatment of lumbar vertebral fracture.
METHODS: We retrieved Wanfang Database (http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn/) for articles concerning screw internal fixation system in treatment of lumbar vertebral fracture published from January 2000 to December 2011. The key words were “lumbar vertebral fracture, screw, internal fixation”. Repetitive studies, common reviews or Meta analysis were excluded. A total of 31 articles were included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The unreliability of screw internal fixation system for treating lumbar vertebral fracture mainly was: dislocation fixation, wrong vertebral arch pedicle location, poor reposition, excessive reposition of fracture, and nerve injury. Complications following internal fixation contained screw breakage, connecting rod breakage, prosthetic joint formation, rectification loss, and wound disruption. The operator should have good anatomic knowledge of spinal column and surgical experiences, fluently mastered equipment function and usage technique requirement. The exact location and implantation of vertebral arch pedicle screw are the key points of successful internal fixation. Usage of orthosis and crutches after internal fixation and correct bone graft technique could reduce screw breakage rate and elevate bone graft fusion rate. The implant safety would obviously elevate, because of rationality of mechanic structure of vertebral arch pedicle screw system, improvement of its design, material, artwork and operation skill, development of imaging technique and computer navigation system.