Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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Pseudarthrosis and construct failure following single-level anterior cervical discectomy, fusion, and plate placement (ACDFP) rarely occur. Routine postoperative anteroposterior and lateral radiographs may be an inconvenience to patients and expose them to additional and potentially unnecessary radiation. No standard exists to define when patients should obtain radiographs following an ACDFP. The authors hypothesize that routinely obtaining static anteroposterior and lateral radiographs in patients who recently underwent a single-level ACDFP without new axial neck pain or other neurological complaints or symptoms is unwarranted and does not alter the long-term treatment of the patient. ⋯ Pseudarthrosis and construct failure following single-level ACDFP occur rarely, and patients with new symptoms following surgery are as likely to have normal radiographic findings as they are to have abnormalities identified on their postoperative plain radiographs. Routinely obtaining postoperative radiographs at regular intervals in asymptomatic patients following single-level ACDFP does not appear to be warranted.
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Sarcomas of the spine are a challenging problem due to their frequent and extensive involvement of multiple spinal segments and high recurrence rates. Gross-total resection to negative margins, with preservation of neurological function and palliation of pain, is the surgical goal and may be achieved using either intralesional resection or en bloc excision. The authors report outcomes of surgery for primary and metastatic sarcomas of the mobile spine in a large patient series. ⋯ Surgery for primary or metastatic sarcoma of the spine is associated with an improvement in neurological function and palliation of pain. The results of this study show a significant difference in patient survival for primary versus metastatic spine sarcomas. The results do not show a statistically significant benefit in survival or local recurrence rates for en bloc versus intralesional resections for either metastatic or primary sarcomas of the spine, but this may be due to the small number of patients undergoing en bloc resections.