Question
A family member has fallen off her horse and injured her L3 bone in back.
I've no idea what to tell her, she is in a small town and been sitting in a hospital hallway for the past 24 hours.
What should I do.
Thank you,
Steve Kelly

Answer
Dear Steve,

Sorry it has taken me a few days to get back in touch with you.  The first thing you need to do is to find out what type of injury she has.  I am assuming that she has acquired a fracture of the vertebra, but there are different types of classification concerning these injuries, and it will determine the type of care she needs.

The most common types of fractures in the low back are compression fractures and posterior element fractures.  Compression fractures  can be helped with a surgical procedure called vertebroplasty. The surgeon inserts a needle and a balloon into the vertebra to increase the lost height of the compression and then injects a bone cement to harden in place of the injured bone.  It is minimally invasive and a very successful technique, which has a good long term prognosis. However, if the compression fracture is serious (more than 50% bone height loss) the outcome may be less favorable.  Posterior element fractures need to be classified further according to the part of the vertebra that is fractured.  Some require surgical fixation, and others are just left to heal on their own.

Bottom line is that you need to find out what the diagnosis is, and discuss options with the doctors on staff.  After you get the diagnosis, I would recommend researching the problem and the possible treatment on the Internet to obtain a broader understanding of the issues at hand.

Good Luck Steve.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net