Spine
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Review Case Reports
Intraoperative visible bubbling of air may be the first sign of venous air embolism during posterior surgery for scoliosis.
Case report of two children sustaining venous air embolism (VAE) during posterior surgery for scoliosis. ⋯ Visible air bubbling at the operative site may herald the onset of massive VAE during multilevel posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation. A prospective multicenter study using precordial Doppler, central venous catheter, and end-tidal CO2 is recommended to determine the true incidence of VAE in spinal deformity surgery and to evaluate monitoring and treatment methods.
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A prospectively maintained database-generated retrospective review and cross-sectional outcome analysis was performed at a single academic center. ⋯ Although the majority of patients improve to an AMS between 90 and 100, many have significant disability and are less functional than the general population. Significant predictive variables include the initial motor score, formal education, comorbidities, age at injury, and development of spasticity. An assessment of more than just the motor score is required to obtain an appreciation of the function and outcomes in this population.
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A prospective, observational study using a novel procedure of video-assisted thoracoscopy and conventional, long spinal instruments for decompression of dorsal tubercular spondylitis. ⋯ Video-assisted thoracoscopic decompression of tubercular dorsal spondylitis is a viable option to achieve significant neurologic recovery with less morbidity, blood requirement, and hospital stay compared to the open thoracotomy procedures.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
The fusion rate of calcium sulfate with local autograft bone compared with autologous iliac bone graft for instrumented short-segment spinal fusion.
A prospective study. ⋯ The fusion rate and fusion size between the two groups are similar. Calcium sulfate pellets may play a role as a bone graft extender in short-segment spinal fusion.
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Comparative Study
COL6A1, the candidate gene for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, is associated with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in Japanese.
Genetic screening of collagen 6A1 gene (COL6A1) in patients with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) recruited in Japan and the Czech Republic. ⋯ Because COL6A1 could be a susceptibility to the occurrence of DISH and OPLL in the Japanese population, we consider that COL6A1 could be responsible for the hyperostotic state, leading to ectopic bone formation in the spinal ligament.