Spine
-
A prospective clinical research article. ⋯ Radiation exposure is minimal to the surgical team during routine use of the O-ARM imaging system. The number of procedures required to surpass occupational exposure limits is high if using appropriate distance from the O-ARM.
-
A finite element analysis. ⋯ Although bony fusion had been completed, the effects of lumbar arthrodesis on adjacent segments could vary according to the surgical technique used for arthrodesis. Semirigid fixation combined with arthrodesis deserves careful consideration and further detailed study because it may cause less stress on adjacent segments than rigid fixation while maintaining the benefits of the latter procedure.
-
Epidemiologic study using national administrative data. ⋯ Patients undergoing CDA tended to be younger and to have less comorbidity, shorter hospital stays, and lower costs. The number of CDAs increased over time, although the percentage remained relatively small in comparison with that for ACDF.
-
A prospective clinical magnetic resonance imaging study. ⋯ The mean LtP-Ao angle and mean LtP-Ao distance differed between the body positions at each level. At the T5-T10 levels, the patients in the prone position exhibited significantly smaller LtP-Ao angles (26.2° vs. 38.8°; P, 0.01) and distances (27.0 vs. 30.7 mm; P, 0.01) than those in the supine position. The vertebral rotation angle was larger in the prone position than in the supine position at periapical levels, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (P . 0.05). The percentage of potential risk of aorta impingement was significantly higher in the prone position than in the supine position at the T5-T10 levels (19.7% vs. 6.6%, respectively; P, 0.05). CONCLUSION.: The aorta shifts more anteromedially and more closely to the spine at the T5-T10 levels when patients with RT-AIS change from the supine to the prone position. Thus, in the prone position, the aorta is potentially at a higher risk for injury from anterior and lateral cortex penetration by the left pedicle screws. The spinal surgeon should be aware of these altered conditions to avoid injury to the aorta during pedicle screw insertion in patients with RT-AIS who are in the prone position.
-
A prospective study of healthy volunteers. ⋯ 1.5 T and 3 T significantly improve the delineation of AL when compared with lower field strength (1 T), but signal intensity of the AL in healthy volunteers is not influenced by the field strength. Increased signal is present in asymptomatic subjects on both low- and high-field magnetic resonance systems. Accordingly, the pathologic relevance of increased signal intensity of the AL, regardless of field strength, may not be indicative of traumatic AL injury.