Clinical spine surgery
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Transitioning to a value-based health care system will require providers to increasingly scrutinize their outcomes and costs. Although there has been a great deal of effort to understand outcomes, cost accounting in health care has been a greater challenge. ⋯ An understanding of the true costs of a particular service will help providers make smarter decisions on how to allocate and utilize resources as well as determine which activities are nonvalue added. Achieving value will require providers to have a greater focus on accurate outcome data as well as better methods of cost accounting.
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Clinical spine surgery · Mar 2016
Long-term Outcome After Monosegmental L4/5 Stabilization for Degenerative Spondylolisthesis With the Dynesys Device.
Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected clinical data. ⋯ Monosegmental Dynesys instrumentation of degenerative spondylolisthesis at L4/5 shows good long-term results. The rate of secondary surgeries is comparable to other dorsal instrumentation devices. Residual range of motion in the stabilized segment is reduced, and the rate of radiologic and symptomatic adjacent segment degeneration is low. Patient satisfaction is high. Dynesys stabilization of symptomatic L4/5 degenerative spondylolisthesis is a possible alternative to other stabilization devices.
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Clinical spine surgery · Feb 2016
ReviewClinical and Radiographic Evaluation of Adult Spinal Deformity.
Adult spinal deformity (ASD) is a complex disease comprised of different deformity types that often involve the entire spine. Accurate assessment of ASD requires a thorough radiographic evaluation of both the spine and pelvis, including concomitant assessment of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, as well as the femoral heads and pelvis. Radiographic measurements should include assessment of regional alignment (including lumbar lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, C2-C7 lordosis), global alignment (including C7 SVA, C2-C7 SVA, and T1 pelvic angle), and measures of pelvic compensation and morphology (pelvic tilt, pelvic incidence, T1 slope, and C2-pelvic tilt). ⋯ ASD surgical planning must integrate regional, global, and pelvic compensatory/morphologic parameters to adequately correct deformity and thereby provide pain relief and improve function. Radiographic classifications for cervical and thoracolumbar deformities have been developed that utilize the regional and global measures of spinal deformity that are most predictive of patient-reported pain and function. These classifications are aimed to standardize the assessment of ASD to aid in clinical management and to facilitate future research on the evaluation and treatment of ASD.
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Clinical spine surgery · Feb 2016
Comparative StudyExpansive Laminoplasty Versus Laminectomy Alone Versus Laminectomy and Fusion for Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament: Is There a Difference in the Clinical Outcome and Sagittal Alignment?
Intervention comparison study. ⋯ Posterior surgeries resulted in clinical improvements although with loss of cervical lordosis in CSM with OPLL patients. OPLL may worsen more frequently after LA. LF and laminoplasty are preferable techniques in this condition, with the former better for patients with high baseline SVA distances.
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Clinical spine surgery · Feb 2016
Comparative StudyConservative and Operative Treatment in Extension Teardrop Fractures of the Axis.
A retrospective case series describing teardrop fracture of the axis. ⋯ Most patients with an extension teardrop fracture of the axis can be treated conservatively. On the basis of this case series, the authors suggest that large fragment size, displacement or angulation, intervertebral disk injury, neurologic deficit, or signs of instability are reasonable indications for surgical treatment.