Spine
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Controlled laboratory study. ⋯ DDD alters the ROMs of the facet joints. The rotations can increase significantly not only at the DDD levels but also at their adjacent levels when compared to those of the healthy participants. The increase in rotations did not occur around the primary rotation axis of the torso motion but around the coupled axes. This hypermobility in coupled rotations might imply a biomechanical mechanism related to DDD.
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Retrospective clinical study for patients receiving multilevel en-bloc spondylectomy resection for sarcomas and solitary metastases of the thoracolumbar spine. ⋯ Multilevel en-bloc spondylectomy offers a radical resection option for extracompartmental tumor involvement. It provides oncologically adequate resection margins with low local recurrence. However, the procedures are complex; the patient's stress is high and metastatic disease developed in one-third of patients. A judicious patient selection and a realistic feasibility evaluation must precede the decision for surgery. Reconstruction using a carbon composite cage system showed low complication rates and offers advantages for oncosurgical procedures.