Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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Review Case Reports
Uremic tumoral calcinosis in the cervical spine: case report.
Tumoral calcinosis is an uncommon condition characterized by the calcification of periarticular soft tissue. In uremic patients the disease is secondary to metabolic disturbances in predisposed patients. The authors report the case of a 73-year-old woman who presented with a new painful cervical mass while undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis for long-standing end-stage renal disease (ESRD). ⋯ The authors conducted a search of the PubMed and EMBASE databases and identified 7 previously reported cases of UTC of the cervical spine. They present a summary of these cases and discuss the etiology, diagnosis, and management of the condition. Although the metabolic disturbances seen in patients undergoing dialysis can lead to tumoral calcinosis, most reported cases involve large joints such as the shoulder or the hip; however, the spine can also be affected and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with uremia as it can mimic aggressive bone-forming neoplasms.
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OBJECTIVE The aim in this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of long-acting liposomal bupivacaine in comparison with bupivacaine hydrochloride for lowering postoperative analgesic usage in the management of posterior cervical and lumbar decompression and fusion. METHODS A retrospective cohort-matched chart review of 531 consecutive cases over 17 months (October 2013 to February 2015) for posterior cervical and lumbar spinal surgery procedures performed by a single surgeon (J. J.) was performed. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Liposomal bupivacaine did not appear to significantly decrease perioperative narcotic use or length of hospitalization, although there was a trend toward decreased narcotic use in comparison with bupivacaine hydrochloride. While the results of this study do not support the routine use of liposomal bupivacaine, there may be a benefit in the subgroup of patients who are chronic opiate users. Future prospective randomized controlled trials, ideally with dose-response parameters, must be performed to fully explore the efficacy of liposomal bupivacaine, as the prior literature suggests that clinically relevant effects require a minimum tissue concentration.
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Multicenter Study
Risk of adjacent-segment disease requiring surgery after short lumbar fusion: results of the French Spine Surgery Society Series.
OBJECTIVE Adjacent-segment disease (ASD) is an increasingly problematic complication following lumbar fusion surgery. The purpose of the current study was to determine the risk of ASD requiring surgical treatment after short lumbar or lumbosacral fusion. Primary spinal disease and surgical factors associated with an increased risk of revision were also investigated. ⋯ The highest risk was observed for degenerative spondylolisthesis. CONCLUSIONS ASD requiring revision surgery was predicted in 5.6% of patients 7 years after index short lumbar spinal fusion in the French Spine Surgery Society retrospective series. An increased risk of ASD requiring revision surgery associated with initial spinal disease showed the significance of the influence of natural degenerative history on adjacent-segment pathology.
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Multicenter Study
Rate of perioperative neurological complications after surgery for cervical spinal cord stimulation.
OBJECTIVE Cervical spinal cord stimulation (cSCS) is used to treat pain of the cervical region and upper extremities. Case reports and small series have shown a relatively low risk of complication after cSCS, with only a single reported case of perioperative spinal cord injury in the literature. Catastrophic cSCS-associated spinal cord injury remains a concern as a result of underreporting. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS In the largest series of cSCS, the risk of spinal cord injury was higher than previously reported (0.5%). Nonetheless, this procedure remains relatively safe, and physicians may use these data to corroborate the safety of cSCS in an appropriately selected patient population. This may become a key treatment option in an increasingly opioid-dependent, aging population.
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OBJECTIVE Little is known about the relationship between sagittal spinal alignment in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS) and objective findings such as spinopelvic parameters, lumbar back muscle degeneration, and clinical data. The purpose of this study was to identify the preoperative clinical and radiological factors that predict improvement in sagittal spinal alignment after decompressive surgery in patients with LSS. METHODS The records of 61 patients with LSS who underwent microendoscopic laminotomy and had pre- and postoperative clinical data collected were retrospectively reviewed. ⋯ The percentage of fat infiltration of the PVM at L4-5 was significantly greater in patients with preoperative SVA ≥ 40 mm than in those patients with SVA < 40 mm. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative PI -LL and symptom duration were independently associated with SVA improvement in LSS patients with forward-bending posture. PVM degeneration at the lower lumbar level was significantly greater among patients with preoperative SVA ≥ 40 mm than in patients with SVA < 40 mm.