Harrington instrumentation in fractures and dislocations of the thoracic and lumbar spine.

Harrington instrumentation was used to treat 23 injuries of the thoracic and lumbar spine accompanied by neural damage encountered during an 8 1/2-year period. The indication for the use of Harrington instrumentation is instability of the thoracic or lumbar spine due to trauma, laminectomy, or both. Of the 13 patients with incomplete neural lesions in the series, 12 improved. One of these was a cauda equina lesion. No patient in the series was neurologically worse after operation, in contrast to other reported series in which laminectomy alone was done. It is concluded that Harrington instrumentation is the strongest available system of internal fixation, and the only one that permits reduction of nearly all traumatic spinal deformities at the time of operation.