Jin XY, Wang HZ, Yang K, Bao Y, Wang Y, Ben XL, Sun HY. Thoracic anterior controllable antedisplacement fusion for thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: A case report. World J Orthop 2025; 16(6): 107753 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i6.107753]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hai-Yan Sun, Chief Physician, Full Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, The Affiliated BenQ Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 181 Zhuyuan Road, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu Province, China. hhysun1269@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Jun 18, 2025; 16(6): 107753 Published online Jun 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i6.107753
Thoracic anterior controllable antedisplacement fusion for thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: A case report
Xing-Yu Jin, Hua-Zheng Wang, Kai Yang, Yu Bao, Ye Wang, Xing-Lei Ben, Hai-Yan Sun
Xing-Yu Jin, Hua-Zheng Wang, Kai Yang, Yu Bao, Ye Wang, Xing-Lei Ben, Department of Orthopaedics, Suzhou BenQ Medical Center, The Affiliated BenQ Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu Province, China
Hai-Yan Sun, Department of Orthopaedics, The Affiliated BenQ Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Xing-Yu Jin and Hua-Zheng Wang.
Co-corresponding authors: Xing-Lei Ben and Hai-Yan Sun.
Author contributions: Jin XY, Wang HZ, and Yang K are responsible for writing the article, who contributed equally to this paper; Bao Y, Wang Y, and Lu D are responsible for data collection and educating patients; Ben XL and Yan H are responsible for article proofreading and surgical operation; All authors reviewed the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no competing interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Yan Sun, Chief Physician, Full Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, The Affiliated BenQ Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 181 Zhuyuan Road, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu Province, China. hhysun1269@163.com
Received: March 30, 2025 Revised: April 10, 2025 Accepted: May 15, 2025 Published online: June 18, 2025 Processing time: 81 Days and 21.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (T-OPLL) is caused by the ossified posterior longitudinal ligament occupying space in the spinal canal, which causes compression of the thoracic spinal cord. Surgical treatment is difficult, risky and complicated; thus, clinical treatment is difficult at present.
CASE SUMMARY
A case of severe multi-segmental T-OPLL treated with thoracic anterior controllable antedisplacement fusion (TACAF) is reported, including the surgical procedures and analysis of the clinical data. The modified-Japanese Orthopaedic Association score in this patient was 4 before surgery, and it was raised to 9 after the operation. The symptoms of spinal canal compression were subsequently relieved. Three months after surgery, digital radiography showed good healing and recovery of limb sensory function.
CONCLUSION
This case report suggests that TACAF is feasible for the treatment of long-segment T-OPLL, and has the advantages of low risk and reduced trauma. However, this operation still needs to be verified by clinical research with a larger sample size.
Core Tip: Thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, especially long-segment lesions, has always been a difficult problem in clinical work. The unique anatomical structure of thoracic vertebra leads to high risk and difficulty in surgical treatment. By loosening the intervertebral discs above and below the diseased segment, removing the lamina behind the diseased segment and pushing the diseased segment forward, a good therapeutic effect can be achieved and the surgical risk can be reduced.
