Thoracolumbar Spine Trauma
presented by Nicholas Perry, MD on August 10, 2020
We have a 27 year old attorney. He has a psych history and he jumped off a balcony going about 40- 50 feet. He's intubated in the ICU but he's responsive. He has multiple lower extremity injuries including calcaneal fracture which is kind of classic. He's splinted which hinders a thorough exam, however he's not able to demonstrate any meaningful motor in the L4-S1.
He has no rectal tone, no perianal sensation. He has a foley in place. These are his initial x-rays and one of the things just off the bat that was an important learning point for me, especially looking at the ap of the spine is looking at the pedicles and making sure that they line up and you can see on this at the l3 level, He has a widened inner particular distance compared to his other levels. You can see the compression of the vertebral body on the lateral floor's advanced as far as advanced images...