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 study aimed to evaluate the impact of several factors, including patients' intraoperative position, intraoperative visualization technique, fixation method, and type of screws and their parameters, on the frequency of intraoperative screw-associated complications in posterior transarticular C1-C2 fixation. ⋯ The factors that help reduce the rate of screw-associated complications include the intraoperative application of biplanar fluoroscopy or neuronavigation system, the use of 4 mm or thicker lag screws, and screw insertion through contraincisions using cannulated ported instruments. On the other hand, the potential risk factors of screw-associated complications include inadequate intraoperative head fixation using skeletal traction, uniplanar fluoroscopy-guided screw insertion, screw insertion using the posterior midline approach, and the use of 3.5 mm or thinner full-threaded screws. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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To conduct a high-level systematic review of the literature to evaluate intravenous and local steroid use in the management of dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery. ⋯ Perioperative intravenous and local steroid use could reduce incidence and severity of early dysphagia after ACSS postoperatively, especially for multilevel surgeries. For the patients underwent revision surgery or at high risk for pseudarthrosis having to use BMP during surgery, locally administered depomedrol on a collagen sponge was suggested to decrease early dysphagia incidence and severity after ACSS. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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To conduct a high-level systematic review of the literature to evaluate intravenous and local steroid use in the management of dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery. ⋯ Perioperative intravenous and local steroid use could reduce incidence and severity of early dysphagia after ACSS postoperatively, especially for multilevel surgeries. For the patients underwent revision surgery or at high risk for pseudarthrosis having to use BMP during surgery, locally administered depomedrol on a collagen sponge was suggested to decrease early dysphagia incidence and severity after ACSS. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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Review Case Reports
Traumatic atlantoaxial rotatory fixation in an adult patient.
Atlantoaxial rotational fixation (AARF) is a rare entity in adults, with only a few cases reported in the English literature and often associated with a traumatic mechanism. It is an underdiagnosed condition that must be taken into account in the initial assessment of all craniocervical trauma. Both diagnostic and therapeutic delay may be a potential cause of severe neurological damage or even death of the patient. The therapeutic management is controversial given the difficulty of achieving optimum stability and permanent reduction. ⋯ The purpose of this paper is to show a case of a young woman with a posttraumatic AARF successfully treated conservatively. This case delineates the difficulties in diagnosing this pathology, as well as the challenges encountered in its management.
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Review
Evaluation of bony fusion after anterior cervical discectomy: a systematic literature review.
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has proven effective in treating radicular arm pain. Post-operatively, cervical spine stability is temporarily challenged, but data on bony fusion and speed of fusion are ambiguous; optimum evaluation method and criteria are debated. ⋯ In approximately 90% of patients, bony fusion is accomplished one year after ACDF. As there is no generally accepted definition of bony fusion, different measuring techniques cannot be compared to a gold standard and it is impossible to determine the most accurate method. Variations in study design hamper conclusions on optimising the rate of bony fusion by choice of material and/or additives. Insufficient attention is paid to correlation between bony fusion and clinical outcome. These slides can be retrieved from electronic supplementary material.