Review Article

Dynamic stabilization of the spine in osteoporotic patients

Evangelos Triantafyllou^1,2, Dimitrios Artsitas¹, Konstantinos Karagiannis¹, Christos P. Zafeiris^3,4

1. Second Orthopaedic Department, KAT Trauma Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece
2. Postgraduate Program “Metabolic Bone Diseases”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece
3. Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Metropolitan General Hospital, Athens, Greece
4. Laboratory for Research of the Musculoskeletal System, School of Medicine University of Athens, Greece

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Keywords: Dynamic stabilization, Osteoporotic spine, Spine fusion

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Abstract

Dynamic stabilization is an alternative fusion technique that aims to eliminate or at least minimize the possibility of degeneration of adjacent levels. The object of dynamic stabilization systems is to allow limited movement of the spine while maintaining stability. Based on experimental and clinical data, osteoporosis is a contraindication for the application of dynamic spinal fusion systems, due to the fact that the reduced bone density disrupts the osteointegration of the pedicle screws, resulting in an increased chance of loosening, which compromise the success of the operation. For this reason, most clinical trials analyse the effects of dynamic spinal fusion include osteoporosis in the exclusion criteria.

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