Impact and clinical significance of pedicle length on spinal canal and intervertebral foramen area

• Published in: International journal of clinical and experimental medicine Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 163 - 169
• Main Authors: Yuan, Chenxi, Zhu, Hai, Song, Dawei, Wei, Wang, Zhu, Ruofu, Mei, Xin, Zou, Jun, Yang, Huilin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States e-Century Publishing Corporation 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Original; pedicle length; finite element method; osteotomy; Spinal stenosis
• ISSN: 1940-5901; 1940-5901

The aim of this study was to measure changes in the cross-sectional area of the spinal canal and the area of the intervertebral foramen for each pedicle segment before and after the pedicle extension using computer-simulated transpedicular osteotomy to provide a theoretical basis for clinical decompression in the lumbar spinal canal. Using spiral CT scanning of the original lumbar spine, a finite element model was established. The pedicle was cut and extended by 2 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm for respective modeling. The changes in the area of each plane of the vertebral canal and the area of the intervertebral foramen were measured. With the gradual extension of the pedicle, the areas of the spinal canal and intervertebral foramen also significantly increased compared with those of the original lumbar spine (P<0.05). The extension of the pedicle using transpedicular osteotomy can significantly increase the cross-sectional area of the lumbar canal and the area of the intervertebral foramen. This finding provides a new theoretically practicable method for the clinical decompression of the lumbar spinal canal.