ABSTRACT

Tuberculosis primarely effects the corpus and disc space of spinal column. The increased incidence of Pott disease and complications reiated to this disease have driven more attention to this situation lately.

Back pain, reducular pain and cold abcess formation are the common features of this disease.

We operated 11 patients with Pott disease in the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department of Gülhane Mil-itary medical Academy betvveen 1988 and 1994.. 8 of the patients were male and 3 were female. Average age ot the patients was 21 (Range 18 - 25).

There was decrease in anterior corpus haight in 5 of the cases, and narrowing of the disc space in 3 of the cases, and psoas abcess in 3 of the cases. The damage in the corpus and the size of abcess is determined with the preoperative CT and MRI.

Abcess drainage, clearance of necrotic bone, anterior bone grafting together with anti-tb. treatment was ap-plied to the cases with degeneration of corpus.

W hile the bodycast was applied in first 3 months postoperativeiy, the anti-tb. treatment w as continued until 9 months.

The best surgical treatment in Pott disease could not be achived until ali the necrotic tissue is removed and abcess is drained completely.