European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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This paper proposes an anatomical parameter, the pelvic incidence, as the key factor for managing the spinal balance. Pelvic and spinal sagittal parameters were investigated for normal and scoliotic adult subjects. The relation between pelvic orientation, and spinal sagittal balance was examined by statistical analysis. ⋯ A predictive equation of lordosis is postulated. The pelvic incidence appears to be the main axis of the sagittal balance of the spine. It controls spinal curves in accordance with the adaptability of the other parameters.
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Comparative Study
Three-dimensional measurement of wedged scoliotic vertebrae and intervertebral disks.
Idiopathic scoliosis involves complex spinal intrinsic deformations such as the wedging of vertebral bodies (VB) and intervertebral disks (ID), and it is obvious that the clinical evaluation obtained by the spinal projections on the two-dimensional (2D) radiographic planes do not give a full and accurate interpretation of scoliotic deformities. This paper presents a method that allows reconstruction in 3D of the vertebral body endplates and measurement of the 3D wedging angles. This approach was also used to verify whether 2D radiographic measurements could lead to a biased evaluation of scoliotic spine wedging. ⋯ There was no statistical relation between the 2D radiographic angles and the locations of the 3D intervertebral wedging angles. These results clearly indicate that VB and ID endplates are wedged in 3D, and that measurements on plain radiographs allow incomplete evaluation of spinal wedging. Clinicians should be aware of these limitations while using wedging measurements from plain radiographs for diagnosis and/or research on scoliotic deformities.
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Sagittal balance of the spine is becoming an important issue in the assessment of the degree of spinal deformity. On a standing lateral full-length radiograph of the spine, the plumb line, or sagittal vertical axis (SVA), can be used to determine the spinal sagittal balance. In this procedure patients have to adopt a habitual standing position with the knees extended during radiographic examination, though it is not known whether small changes in the position of the lower extremities affects the location of the SVA. ⋯ The results of the study showed that SVA translations during standing radiographic analysis in a patient with a fixed spine depend on small changes in the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Thus, sagittal spinal (im)balance in ankylosing spondylitis can not be measured from the SVA on a standing lateral full-length radiograph of the spine unless strict procedures are developed to control for the angle of the hip, knee, and ankle joints. The accuracy of the SVA as a measurement of sagittal spinal balance in other spinal deformities, with possible additional segmental movements, therefore remains questionable.
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Between 1984 and 1993 we treated 21 consecutive patients who had progressive thoracic kyphosis due to ankylosing spondylitis by polysegmental posterior lumbar wedge osteotomies. In 19 patients we used the Universal Spinal Instrumentation System and in the last 2 patients the H-frame. The average correction in 20 of 21 patients at follow-up was 25.6 degrees (range 0 degrees-52 degrees), with a mean segmental correction of 9.5 degrees and a mean loss of correction after operation of 10.7 degrees (range 0 degrees-36 degrees). ⋯ Two patients required reoperation at long-term follow-up. Five out of seven deep wound infections required removal of the implant. Polysegmental lumbar wedge osteotomies for correction of progressive thoracic kyphosis in ankylosing spondylitis is only recommended in patients at a mild stage of the disease with mobile discs and in combination with strong instrumentation.
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The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) combined with continuous epidural block in patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery. In group 1 (postoperative PCA group), 23 patients were administered postoperative continuous epidural block in combination with analgesics, which was self-regulated by the patient using a device. In contrast, the 22 patients in group 2 (control group) received suppositories or intramuscular injections of analgesics on request. ⋯ The time spent by nurses on pain management in group 1 was less than that in group 2. No patient had any serious complications in either group. In conclusion, the present patient-controlled method combined with postoperative continuous epidural block could decrease the intensity of postoperative pain and the amount of time spent by nurses on the administration of postoperative analgesics after lumbar spine surgery.