BACKGROUND: The most dangerous consequence of thoracolumbar burst fracture is its neurological deficits(caused by primary and/or secondary injury) . It is reported that posterior spinal decompression combined with internal fixation are viable in reduction of fracture and indirect decompression of obstructed spinal canal.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of anterior decompression combined with STRYKER thoracoluambar anterior internal fixation system in improving spinal canal stenosis and spinal mechanical axis in thoracolumbar burst fracture.DESIGN:It is a case report.SETTING:An orthopedic department of a municipal hospital.PARTICIPANTS:In this study, five patients (four male, one female, aged 17 - 34 years) were recruited who suffered from thoracolumbar burst fracture and spinal cord dysfunction and were treated in the Orthopaedic Departnent of Dongguan Taiping People' s Hospital from September 2001 to February 2002.METHODS: All patients received anterior decompression and intervertebral grafting with iliac or rib bone flap combined with reduction and internal fixation by STRYKER system. X-rays of thoracolumbar vertebrae were taken in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 9th post-operative months for observation of fusion of injured segments, improvement of narrowed spinal canal and kyphosis angle. And Frankel scale was adopted for evaluation of the patients during follow-up(A for bad and E for excellent).narrowed spinal canal.RESULTS: All of the 5 patients entered analytic stage and follow-up lasted grade B in one patient, all the others got Frankel grade E and could walk gical operation was 68.9% and after operation there was no spinal canal tion to 0° - 6° afterward.CONCLUSION: Anterior spinal decompression can directly and completely provide satisfactory environment for the recovery of neurological of deficits spinal cord. STRYKER thoracoluambar anterior internal fixation system applied in patients with thoracolumbar burst fracture and paraplegia can effectively restore normal spinal curve with the advantages of simple procedure and stable fixation as well as the characteristics of biological internal fixation such as satisfactory reduction and stable fixation.