Journal of spinal disorders & techniques
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Feb 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialTumor necrosis alpha-blocking agent (etanercept): a triple blind randomized controlled trial of its use in treatment of sciatica.
Triple blind randomized controlled study. ⋯ Small numbers of trial participants limited statistical analysis. The trend appears to show no benefit to the use of etanercept over placebo in the pharmacologic treatment of sciatica.
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Feb 2010
Comparative StudyA short report comparing outcomes between L4/L5 and L5/S1 single-level discectomy surgery.
Prospective cohort study. ⋯ This is the first study comparing a discectomy outcome at L4/L5 and L5/S1 with complete preoperative data. No significant difference exists between the 2 levels in terms of postoperative outcome. Surgical procedures such as fusion or arthroplasty should not be carried out synchronous with primary discectomy for radiculopathy. The lack of a difference between L4/L5 and L5/S1 reinforces the fact that the mechanical environment does not affect outcome and should not influence treatment.
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Feb 2010
Preoperative radiographic factors and surgeon experience are associated with cortical breach of C2 pedicle screws.
A retrospective review study. ⋯ During placement of C2 pedicle screws, likelihood of cortical breach may be associated with size of pedicle and surgeon experience. Extensive preoperative evaluation of CT scans and consideration of technical demands of procedure may help avoid complications with such internal fixation.
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Feb 2010
Clinical outcomes after microendoscopic discectomy for recurrent lumbar disc herniation.
Retrospective review of consecutive case series. ⋯ MED is a safe and effective surgical approach for the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation. Standardized measures of outcome show that MED for recurrent herniation produces improvement in pain, disability, and functional health that is at least comparable with outcomes reported for conventional open microdiscectomy.
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Feb 2010
Role of major spine surgery using Kaneda anterior instrumentation for osteoporotic vertebral collapse.
A retrospective study. ⋯ The current study demonstrated the advantages of anterior spinal reconstruction in osteoporotic vertebral collapse: (1) safe and reliable decompression could be performed, and (2) 80% of patients were successfully treated with anterior spinal reconstruction alone. However, patients with multilevel corpectomies and/or severe osteoporosis highly required posterior reinforcement.