Thoracoscopic debridement and stabilization of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis

The role of surgical debridement and internal fixation in treatment of vertebral osteomyelitis has been evolving. The standard surgical approach to thoracolumbar vertebral osteomyelitis requiring extensive thoracotomy or retroperitoneal exposure carries significant associated morbidity and postoperative pain. Minimally invasive thoracoscopic spine surgery is designed to improve postoperative morbidity associated with the traditional open surgery. We report a case of a 70-year-old man who developed T11-T12 pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis 3 months after undergoing posterior laminectomy and microsurgical excision of a herniated thoracic disc. The patient underwent minimally invasive thoracoscopic radical debridement and anterior spinal reconstruction and fusion. Patients with vertebral osteomyelitis may benefit from the decreased postoperative morbidity that is associated with minimally invasive thoracoscopic spinal surgery.