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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Capillary haemangioma is a benign tumour frequently encountered in the skin and other soft tissues. Histologically, these vascular lesions are characterised by nodules of capillary-sized vessels lined by flattened endothelium, each of which is subserved by a feeding vessel. Capillary haemangioma of the central and peripheral nervous system is extremely rare. ⋯ Complete resection is the treatment of choice, and during surgery the vascular tumour is usually found encapsulated and sharply bordered from the surrounding parenchyma of the spinal cord and affected nerve roots. In the present account we give an overview of the clinical features, neuroradiological findings, therapeutic options and histopathological differential diagnostic aspects of spinal intradural capillary haemangioma. In general, vascular lesions of this entity are preoperatively misdiagnosed as neoplasms, and a higher level of clinical and radiological suspicion may avoid surgical overtreatment of these benign tumours.
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The short segmental pedicle screw device is widely used for the decompression of neural elements and reduction of normal anatomy. Many biomechanical studies concerning proper decompression are available. However, no study has determined the optimal device adjustment for reduction of the burst fracture to the normal anatomy. ⋯ With this adjustment, on average the spine became 0.9 mm compressed and 2.0 degrees lordotic, compared to the intact. The results of the study show that the device adjustments of axial translation and sagittal angulation can be applied in any sequence, with the same results. The combination of 5 mm distraction with 6 degrees extension was the device adjustment that produced the closest anatomical reduction.
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Scoliosis among children and adolescents is a persistent problem. Worldwide, it afflicts between 0.3 to 15.3% of the population. One of the treatment methods of this disorder is to administer lateral electrical surface stimulation (LESS) for 9 h/day; unfortunately, however, this results in side-effects. ⋯ The degree of scoliotic deformity (according to the Cobb method) ranged from 21 degrees to 410 degrees (mean, 31.2 degrees) and from 23 degrees to 330 degrees (mean, 30 degrees) in groups 1 and 2, respectively. LESS resulted in spinal deformity to a similar degree in the rabbits treated for either 9 or 2 h/day over a 3-month period. Short LESS therapy (2 h/day) significantly reduced detrimental effects associated with the treatment on internal organs of laboratory animals.