ABSTRACT

Treatment of thoracic disc hernias (TDH) remains controversial due to their lower incidence than hernias in the cervical or lumbar spine. The objectives of this retrospective study are to demonstrate the surgical outcomes for patients with TDH undergoing posterior transforaminal thoracic interbody fusion (TTIF) and discectomy with posterior instrumentation and fusion.

Transforaminal thoracic interbody fusion combined with segmental fusion offers a means of achieving concurrent decompression and segmental stabilization, and is an effective option for certain subtypes of TDH.

None of the patients showed any signs of instrument migration or failure in the follow-up, and each showed radiographic fusion. The average pre- and postoperative VAS scores were 7.4 and 1.9, respectively. One patient developed a postoperative wound infection requiring additional operative debridement.

We enrolled ten patients who underwent TTIF for chronic pain due to TDH and were followed up for at least one year. Of the ten patients, one had TDH at two levels. Discs were classified as central or paracentral. The mean age at surgery was 53.5 years and the average period of follow-up was 32.6 months. The pre- and postoperative pain status was evaluated using the Visual Analog Score (VAS). Outcomes and complications were retrospectively assessed in this patient series. The status of fusion was evaluated using plain radiographs and computed tomography.