Spine
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To determine the osteogenicity of posterior longitudinal ligament ossification, the posterior longitudinal ligament obtained during anterior cervical surgery from patients with the disorder was analyzed with in vitro cultures. ⋯ Posterior longitudinal ligament cells from the three North American white patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, when cultured in vitro, synthesized osteocalcin on vitamin D3 priming, confirming their osteoblastic phenotype, whereas posterior longitudinal ligament cells from four white patients with isolated spondylosis did not.
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Case Reports
Microradiographic and histopathologic findings in a human cage explant after two-level corpectomy: a case report.
A case involving microradiographic and histopathologic analysis of an explanted human corpectomy mesh cage is reported. ⋯ This study involved one titanium mesh device (Harms cage), 20 mm in diameter and 45 mm long, explanted from a two-level corpectomy clinical case. This device was retrieved, processed, and analyzed after informed patient consent and approval from the authors' institutional review board.
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Animal model study of three healthy commercial pigs was conducted. ⋯ This near infrared spectroscopy technique monitors changes in oxygenation of the spinal cord, and therefore appears capable of intraoperative warning about impending vascular compromise of the spinal cord.
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A useful modification of the Kerrison rongeur is reported. ⋯ The design of the chip collector fully met the expectations for the modification: no clogging of resected bone material, easy clinical use, and shorter operating times. The modified rongeur, available in two lengths (190 and 290 mm) and three sizes of the chip collector (diameter of 4, 6, and 8 mm) proved to be useful in clinical applications.