Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rod stiffness and implant density on coronal and sagittal plane correction in patients with main thoracic curve adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). ⋯ For flexible main thoracic curve AIS, both rods with high stiffness and those with low stiffness combined with high or low screw density could provide effective correction in the coronal plane; rods with high stiffness along with high screw density on the concave side could provide better outcome with respect to sagittal TK restoration.
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Multiple myeloma is the most common primary tumor of the spine and is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone. Although spinal myeloma is classically a radiosensitive lesion, clinical or radiographic signs of instability merit surgical intervention. The authors present the epidemiology, surgical indications, and outcome data of a series of consecutive cases involving 31 surgically treated patients with diagnoses of multiple myeloma and plasmacytoma of the spine (the largest such series reported to date). ⋯ In this 10-year analysis, the authors report outcomes of surgical intervention for patients with indeterminate or gross spinal instability due to multiple myeloma and plasmacytoma of the spine with improved neurological function following surgery and low rates of instrumentation failure.
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The aim in this study was to quantify the effects of vertebroplasty on endplate subsidence in treated and adjacent vertebrae and their relationship to endplate thickness and underlying trabecular bone in elderly female spines. ⋯ Bone cement injected during vertebroplasty alters local biomechanics in elderly female spines, resulting in increased endplate disruption in treated and superior adjacent vertebrae. More specifically, bone cement increases subsidence in the posterior regions of the treated endplates and the anterior region of the superior caudal endplate. This increased subsidence may be the initial mechanism leading to subsequent compression fractures after vertebroplasty, particularly in vertebrae superior to the treated level.
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The goal of this study was to determine whether pretreatment depression is predictive of quality of life (QOL) improvement for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) who are treated conservatively. ⋯ When controlling for other baseline characteristics, severely depressed patients with LSS who are treated nonoperatively have significantly less improvement in their QOL compared with those with little or no depression. These data are similar to the negative predictive effects of depression on posttreatment QOL following lumbar fusion surgery.
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Axial neck pain after C3-6 laminoplasty has been reported to be significantly lesser than that after C3-7 laminoplasty because of the preservation of the C-7 spinous process and the attachment of nuchal muscles such as the trapezius and rhomboideus minor, which are connected to the scapula. The C-6 spinous process is the second longest spinous process after that of C-7, and it serves as an attachment point for these muscles. The effect of preserving the C-6 spinous process and its muscular attachment, in addition to preservation of the C-7 spinous process, on the prevention of axial neck pain is not well understood. The purpose of the current study was to clarify whether preservation of the paraspinal muscles of the C-6 spinous process reduces postoperative axial neck pain compared to that after using nonpreservation techniques. ⋯ The C-6 paraspinal muscle preservation technique was not superior to the C6-nonpreservation technique for preventing postoperative axial neck pain.