Spine
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Prospective observational study. ⋯ These results show that patients with chronic low back pain should be encouraged to continue working up until surgery.
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Comparative Study
Anterior exposure of the spine for removal of lumbar interbody devices and implants.
A retrospective review of a consecutive series of 14 patients operated on between March 1998 and April 2005. ⋯ Anterior removal of lumbar interbody devices placed anteriorly or posteriorly has a high incidence of complication. Average blood loss and hospital stay are increased with revision anterior surgery. The vascular complication rate is 2-fold higher at L4-L5 level compared to L5-S1.
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Immunohistochemical study of the sensory innervation of the human lumbar intervertebral disc. ⋯ Almost all of the nociceptive nerve fibers in the human intervertebral disc are peptide-containing nerve fibers, similar to the rat disc, suggesting that nerve fibers related to inflammation may transmit pain originating from human degenerated intervertebral discs.
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Seven adult human cadaveric cervical spines (C2-T1) were biomechanically tested in a programmable testing device. ⋯ Increase motion compensation occurred at segments immediately adjacent to a single-level fusion. Significant differences occurred at the level above the fusion site for the C3-C4 and C4-C5 fusion in both flexion and extension. When the lower levels (C5-C6, C6-C7) were fused, a significant amount of increased motion was observed at the levels immediately above and below the fusion. However, greater compensation occurred at the inferior segments than the superior segments for the lower level fusions (C5-C6, C6-C7).