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Case Reports

. 2022 Sep 23;14(9):e29492.


doi: 10.7759/cureus.29492.


eCollection 2022 Sep.

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Case Reports

Gersham J Rainone et al.


Cureus.


.

Abstract

Thoracolumbar fractures are a common consequence of trauma, often a result of motor vehicle accidents or falls. Burst fractures are a morphology of thoracolumbar fracture in which compressive force causes retropulsion of the posterior elements of the vertebral body, potentially leading to neurological deficits. The Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity (TLICS) score is a decision-making tool to help surgeons decide between nonoperative and operative management. For assigned scores of 4, management is at the discretion of the surgeon, and for scores ≥ 5, operative treatment is recommended. Burst fracture patients that are neurologically intact are given a score of 5 if there is a posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) injury and are recommended to undergo operative management. Here we present a neurologically intact patient with an L4 burst fracture with PLC injury that was managed conservatively and demonstrated successful clinical, functional, and radiographic recovery.


Keywords:

burst fracture; ligamentous injury; non-operative management; thoracolumbar fracture; thoracolumbar injury classification and severity (tlics).

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.