Background and importance:

Nontraumatic pedicle fracture is uncommon, with sparsely described cases of conservative management versus surgical treatment by open fusion or percutaneous fixation.

Clinical presentation:

We report the case of a 60 year old woman with nontraumatic L4 and L5 pedicle fracture who developed additional pedicle fractures at L3 while undergoing conservative management in a brace. The patient underwent percutaneous pediculosynthesis with screw fixation without fusion at L3-5 bilaterally. This led to fracture healing with good radiographic result and resolution of her symptoms.

Conclusion:

A trial of conservative management is typically warranted in most cases of non-traumatic pedicle fracture, but there is risk of refractory or progressive symptoms as well as subsequent fracture. Minimally invasive fixation is a viable surgical option that can be used in multilevel fractures.