SPECT-CT Assessment of Pseudarthrosis after Spinal Fusion: Diagnostic Pitfall due to a Broken Screw

A 43-year-old drug addicted female was referred for a L5-S1 posterolateral in situ fixation with autologous graft because of an L5/S1 severe discopathy with listhesis. After six months, low back pain recurred. A Tc-99m HDP SPECT-CT diagnosed a pseudarthrosis with intense uptake of the L5-S1 endplate...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Olivier Rager, Gaël Amzalag, Arthur Varoquaux, Karl Schaller, Osman Ratib, Enrico Tessitore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Orthopedics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/502517
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Summary:A 43-year-old drug addicted female was referred for a L5-S1 posterolateral in situ fixation with autologous graft because of an L5/S1 severe discopathy with listhesis. After six months, low back pain recurred. A Tc-99m HDP SPECT-CT diagnosed a pseudarthrosis with intense uptake of the L5-S1 endplates and a fracture of the right S1 screw just outside the metal-bone interface without any uptake or bone resorption around the screw. The absence of uptake around a broken screw is a pitfall that the physician should be aware of.
ISSN:2090-6749
2090-6757