Spine
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The anatomy of a new ligament in the human spine the ATA is described. ⋯ In this preliminary study, we have described a new ligament, the ATA, between the dural sac and the ligamentum flavum at the L5 level. The ATA is an important structure that creates a potential risk for inadvertent dural lacerations during flavectomy. Dissecting the ATA before the flavectomy may be an important step in reducing postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks, which may result in significant benefits for patients and health care organizations.
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Retrospective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based study. ⋯ In the absence of any significant clinical correlation between patient demographics and the entry site in Wiltse's approach, the spine surgeon may use distances described in this paper to apply to a broad base of spine patients regardless of BMI, sex, or age.
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Retrospective analysis of patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treated with growing rod (GR) instrumentation for scoliosis. ⋯ GRs improve trunk height and the space-available-for-lung ratio while controlling curve and pelvic obliquity in young patients with SMA with severe scoliosis, but they do not halt rib collapse. For patients with SMA, hospital stays were longer than those for patients with IIS/JIS, whereas the rate of major complications was lower.
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STUDY DESIGN. A qualitative and semiquantitative study of the morphology of the human thoracolumbar transversospinal (TSP) muscles. OBJECTIVE. ⋯ The complex morphology of the TSP muscles indicates that they would be better classified as spinotransverse muscles. They are multipennate, highly aerobic, with fibers organized in parallel, an arrangement lending itself to "fine-tuning" of vertebral movements. Understanding their morphology has implications for investigation, treatment, motor control, and biomechanics.
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Ligamentum flavum (LF) thickness was measured by using lumbar magnetic resonance imaging in patients with low back or leg pain. ⋯ Thickening of the LF is correlated with disc degeneration, aging, BMI, LSS, spinal level, and disc herniation. The authors concluded that thickening of the LF is due to buckling of the LF into the spinal canal secondary to disc degeneration more than to LF hypertrophy. Sex and the degree of pain were not correlated with the thickness of the LF.