Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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OBJECTIVE Improvements in imaging technology have steadily advanced surgical approaches. Within the field of spine surgery, assistance from the O-arm Multidimensional Surgical Imaging System has been established to yield superior accuracy of pedicle screw insertion compared with freehand and fluoroscopic approaches. Despite this evidence, no studies have investigated the clinical relevance associated with increased accuracy. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS To the authors' knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate clinical outcomes associated with O-arm-assisted navigation following thoracolumbar spinal fusion. O-arm-assisted navigation decreased the risk of reoperation to less than half the risk associated with freehand and fluoroscopic approaches. Future randomized controlled trials to corroborate the findings of the present study are warranted.
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OBJECTIVE Medically refractory spasticity and dystonia are often alleviated with intrathecal baclofen (ITB) administration through an indwelling catheter inserted in the lumbar spine. In patients with cerebral palsy, however, there is a high incidence of concomitant neuromuscular scoliosis. ITB placement may be technically challenging in those who have severe spinal deformity or who have undergone prior instrumented thoracolumbar fusion. ⋯ One late infection due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (requiring pump explantation) occurred at 4 months, probably secondary to recurrent urinary tract infections. CONCLUSIONS Image-guided CBCT navigation resulted in accurate percutaneous placement of the IT catheter for ITB pumps in patients with prior instrumented thoracolumbar fusion. The multimodality approach is an alternate technique that may be used for IT catheter insertion in patients with complex lumbar spine anatomy, extending the potential to provide safe, durable ITB therapy in this population.
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Comparative Study
Is lumbar facet fusion biomechanically equivalent to lumbar posterolateral onlay fusion?
OBJECTIVE This study was designed with the following research objectives: 1) to determine the efficacy of facet fusion with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) on an absorbable collagen sponge (ACS) in an ovine lumbar facet fusion model; 2) to radiographically and histologically compare the efficacy of lumbar facet fusion with rhBMP-2/ACS to facet fusion with an iliac crest bone graft (ICBG); and 3) to biomechanically compare lumbar facet fusion with rhBMP-2/ACS to lumbar posterolateral fusion (PLF) with ICBG. METHODS The efficacies of the 3 treatments to induce fusion were evaluated in an instrumented ovine lumbar fusion model. Eight sheep had 10 cm3/side ICBG placed as an onlay graft for PLF at L2-3. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Both rhBMP-2/ACS and autograft demonstrated 100% efficacy when used for facet fusion in the instrumented ovine model. However, the ICBG PLF treatment group only demonstrated a 50% bilateral fusion rate. Biomechanically, the ICBG PLF and rhBMP-2 Facet groups demonstrated similar stiffness in all 6 loading directions, with the rhBMP-2 Facet group having on average slightly higher stiffness in all directions.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Validation of the baseline severity stratification of objective functional impairment in lumbar degenerative disc disease.
OBJECTIVE The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is a simple, objective, and standardized method to measure objective functional impairment (OFI) in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD). The objective of the current work was to validate the OFI baseline severity stratification (BSS; with levels of "none," "mild," "moderate," and "severe"). METHODS Data were collected in a prospective IRB-approved 2-center study. ⋯ Patients with mild, moderate, and severe OFI had increased leg pain by 0.90 (p = 0.044), 1.54 (p < 0.001), and 1.94 (p < 0.001); increased ODI by 7.99 (p = 0.004), 12.64 (p < 0.001), and 17.13 (p < 0.001); and decreased SF-12 PCS by -2.57 (p = 0.049), -3.63 (p = 0.003), and -6.23 (p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The OFI BSS is a valid measure of functional impairment for use in daily clinical practice. The presence of OFI indicates the presence of significant functional impairment on subjective outcome measures.
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OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) fractures associated with UIV screw fixation (unicortical vs bicortical) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) augmentation after adult spinal deformity surgery. METHODS A single-center, single-surgeon consecutive series of adult patients who underwent lumbar fusion for ≥ 4 levels (that is, the lower instrumented vertebra at the sacrum or pelvis and the UIV of the thoracolumbar spine [T9-L2]) were retrospectively reviewed. Age, sex, follow-up duration, sagittal UIV angle immediately postoperatively including several balance-related parameters (lumbar lordosis [LL], pelvic incidence, and sagittal vertical axis), bone mineral density, UIV screw fixation type, UIV PMMA augmentation, and UIV fracture were evaluated. ⋯ UIV bicortical screw fixation increased the risk for UIV fracture (OR 5.39; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Bicortical screw fixation at the UIV is a major risk factor for early UIV compression fracture, regardless of whether a thoracolumbosacral orthosis is used. To reduce the proximal junctional failure, unicortical screw fixation at the UIV is essential in adult spinal deformity correction surgery.