Instrumentation of hypoplastic pedicles with patient-specific guides

Hypoplastic pedicles of the thoracolumbar spine (<5 mm diameter) are often found in syndromic deformities of the spine and pose a challenge in pedicle screw instrumentation. 3D-printed patient-specific guides might help overcome anatomical difficulties when instrumenting pedicles with screws, thereby reducing the necessity for less effective fixation methods such as hooks or sublaminar wires. In this study, the surgical feasibility and clinical outcome of patients with hypoplastic pedicles following pedicle screw instrumentation with 3D-printed patient-specific guides were assessed.

Hypoplastic pedicles were identified on preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans in six patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion surgery between 2017 and 2020. Based on these preoperative CT scans, patient-specific guides were produced to help with screw instrumentation of these thin pedicles. Postoperatively, pedicle-screw-related complications or revisions were analyzed.

93/105 (88.6%) pedicle screws placed with patient-specific guides were instrumented. 62/93 (66.7%) of these instrumented pedicles were defined as hypoplastic with a mean width of 3.07 mm (SD  ±0.98 mm, 95% CI [2.82–3.32]). Overall, 6 complications in the 62 hypoplastic pedicles (9.7%) were observed and included intraoperatively managed 4 cerebrospinal fluid leaks, 1 pneumothorax and 1 delayed revision due to 2 lumbar screws (2/62, 3.3%) impinging the L3 nerve root causing a painful radiculopathy. The mean follow-up time was 26.7 (SD  ±11.7) months. Complications were only noted when the pedicle-width-to-screw-diameter ratio measured less than 0.62.

Patient-specific 3D-printed guides can aid in challenging instrumentation of hypoplastic pedicles in the thoracolumbar spine, especially if the pedicle-width-to-screw-diameter ratio is greater than 0.62.