Spine
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Case Reports
Lumbar chance fracture in an adult snowboarder: unusual mechanism of a chance fracture.
A case of a Chance fracture in an adult snowboarder following a fall is presented. The mechanism of this fracture is reported. ⋯ Chance fractures are horizontal splitting fractures of the posterior elements of the vertebrae, and the mechanism of the injury is that of a hyperflexion of the spine over a fulcrum. A Chance-type fracture can be seen in an adult snowboarder, when acute hyperflexion of the spine occurs following a fall backward.
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Calculate the apparent pseudarthrosis rate for anteriorly plated cervical spine fusions using different threshold levels of intervertebral rotation. ⋯ The apparent pseudarthrosis rate was highly dependent on the threshold of motion used to define a pseudarthrosis.
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A retrospective study on the correlation between preoperative pulmonary function tests, preoperative pulmonary symptoms, and postoperative pulmonary complications. ⋯ The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with the deterioration of pulmonary function tests. The posterior procedure had a very low incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications, but a transthoracic procedure increased the complications significantly. Preoperative pulmonary symptoms usually predicted abnormal results of pulmonary function tests but had no correlation with postoperative pulmonary complication.
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Retrospective study of large-magnitude thoracic curves (> or =90 degrees ) treated with pedicle screw constructs. ⋯ Thoracic pedicle screw constructs can be safely used for large-magnitude curves. Curve correction (68%) is powerful for these curves, which are stiff and difficult to manage. Correction should be performed carefully with consideration given to convex compression for cases with concomitant hyperkyphosis for these "at risk" spinal cords. Screw accuracy (96.3%) was excellent in this review. The authors found that screws can consistently be placed according to the preoperative plan even in these large-magnitude curves.
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The time courses of nerve growth factor content and pain-related behavior were examined using experimental disc herniation models. ⋯ These data suggest the possibilities that elevated nerve growth factor level is partly involved in pain behavior and further the combined model mimicking the clinical situation, which causes the marked neuronal responses, is helpful to advance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying sciatica due to lumbar disc herniation.