Spine
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Retrospective chart review of 311 anterior cervical procedures. ⋯ Patients with prolonged procedures (i.e., >5 hours) exposing more than three vertebral levels that include C2, C3, or C4 with more than 300-mL blood loss should be watched carefully for respiratory insufficiency.
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Mechanical testing of human lumbar functional spine units was carried out after instrumenting the disc space with femoral ring allografts (FRAs) with and without integrated crossed anterior screws applied into the adjacent bodies. ⋯ Although there is a trend toward improved stability of the FRA spacers in torsion with the addition of the metal screws, this is not statistically significant. The integrated crossed anterior metal screw system significantly improves the stability of the FRA spacers in extension when used for anterior lumbar interbody fusion.