Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Posterior approach for thoracolumbar corpectomies with expandable cage placement and circumferential arthrodesis: a multicenter case series of 67 patients.
The purpose of this multicenter trial was to investigate the outcome and durability of a single-stage thoracolumbar corpectomy using expandable cages via a posterior approach. ⋯ Single-stage posterior corpectomy and circumferential reconstruction were performed at multiple centers with a consistent outcome over a wide range of pathologies. Correction of the sagittal deformity was sustained, and the neurological outcome was good in the majority of patients; however, 18% of acute traumatic fractures required revision of the construct.
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Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most common cause of spinal dysfunction in the elderly. Operative management is beneficial for most patients with moderate/severe myelopathy. This study examines the potential confounding effects of age, sex, duration of symptoms, and comorbidities on the functional outcomes and postoperative complications in patients who underwent cervical decompressive surgery. ⋯ Our results indicate that surgery for CSM is associated with significant functional recovery, which appears to reach a plateau at 6 months after surgery. Age is a potential predictor of complications after decompressive surgery for CSM. Whereas older patients with a greater number of preexisting medical comorbidities had less favorable functional outcomes after surgery for CSM in the multivariate regression analysis, none of the studied factors were associated with clinically relevant functional recovery after surgery in the logistic regression analysis. Therefore, age-matched protocols based on preexisting medical comorbidities may reduce the risk for postoperative complications and improve functional outcomes after surgical treatment for CSM.
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As a result of spinal trauma, approximately 12,000 individuals become quadriplegic or paraplegic each year in the US. The cervical spine is the most frequently injured part of the spinal column, and approximately 60% of spinal cord injuries involve the cervical region. The cervical collar remains the best method of prehospital spinal stabilization. Following trauma, difficulty securing an airway, the shielding of life-threatening injuries, and pressure ulcers are just a few of the serious problems that may be encountered in patients placed in cervical collars. The authors' goal was to develop an efficient method of clearing the cervical spine, by incorporating flexion and extension CT scanning with reconstruction (FECTR) into a trauma protocol. ⋯ The authors' initial findings show FECTR to be a safe, effective, and efficient method of posttraumatic cervical spine clearance. In unconscious or obtunded patients, FECTR facilitates cervical spine clearance with a high degree of accuracy. A larger prospective study is needed to confirm these findings.
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Comparative Study
Lumbar spinal stenosis in elderly patients: is a unilateral microsurgical approach sufficient for decompression?
For the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis, less invasive procedures, which preserve maximal bony and ligamentous structures, have been recommended to reduce associated morbidity. The authors examined the outcome after decompression of spinal stenosis in the elderly by comparing 3 different surgical approaches. Their focus was whether a unilateral microsurgical decompression provided sufficient outcomes in the elderly population. ⋯ Laminectomies did not show any advantage when compared with unilateral transmedian approaches. A unilateral partial hemilaminectomy combined with a transmedian decompression sufficiently treated the stenosis. This method seemed advantageous in minimizing the procedure and associated morbidity in this elderly population. Further investigations with long-term results (> 5 years) are still necessary.
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Comorbidities in patients undergoing spine surgery may reasonably be factors that increase health care costs. To verify this hypothesis, the authors conducted the following study. ⋯ Comorbidities additively increase hospital costs for patients who undergo spine surgery, and should be considered in payment arrangements.