Early progressive kyphosis following compression fractures. Two case reports from a series of "stable" thoracolumbar compression fractures.

In an 18-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman, significant kyphotic deformity progressively developed in the course of the healing of apparently stable thoracic compression fractures. The common features were: (1) multiple adjacent fractures; (2) location in the thoracic spine; (3) associated thoracic injury; and (4) youth. The possibility of early progressive kyphotic deformity should be carefully monitored so that appropriate treatment can be instituted before the deformity becomes significant. Although both isolated fractures and multiple-level fractures of the thoracolumbar spine occur predominantly between T12 and L2, there is a secondary area that is predisposed to compression fractures in sequence from T5 to T7.