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
-
To describe two unique cases of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) treated with balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) that were complicated by spinal instability and resultant lower extremity paraparesis. ⋯ To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the development of spinal instability with resultant delayed paraplegia following BKP. This case report demonstrates another cause of neurological decline following BKP, in the absence of cement leakage.
-
Spinal fusion surgery rates in the elderly are increasing. Cost effectiveness analyses with relatively short-length follow-up have been performed. But the long-term effects in terms of health care use are largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to describe the long-term consequences of spinal fusion surgery in elderly patients on health care use and costs using a health care system perspective. ⋯ Spinal fusion surgery in older patients does not generate excess hospital-based health care use in the longer term as compared with the background population, but primary care use increases.
-
Unilateral hypertrophy of the lateral mass of the atlas is an extremely rare condition. The authors present a rare type of unilateral atlantal mass hypertrophy with atlanto-occipital fusion which is associated with an invaginated lateral mass of the atlas and the odontoid process into the foramen magnum. ⋯ To our knowledge, such a case of unilateral atlantal mass hypertrophy associated with atlanto-occipital fusion has not been described previously. The authors discuss the pathology of this case and review the literature on unilateral atlantal mass hypertrophy and associated anomalies of the upper cervical spine.
-
Despite the high prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases, in Spain there are few data about how these conditions affect the quality of life of individuals. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients candidate for orthopedic surgical treatment using an age-gender adjusted method of QOL scores. ⋯ Presenting the results of SF-36 in standard deviations from the age- and gender-adjusted population mean (T values) leads to a better appreciation of the differences between the various diseases. Patients candidate for surgery of the lumbar spine had a worse QOL, while the QOL in patients candidate for knee arthroplasty was the least affected.
-
To investigate the effects on evoked thalamic neuronal activity of application of notochordal cells and chondrocyte-like cells derived from nucleus pulposus (NP) onto a dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and to compare these effects with a previously reported increased thalamic activity induced by NP. ⋯ Separate exposure of the DRG to the two NP-derived cell populations induced different effects on evoked thalamic activity, but none of the tested cell samples induced an increase in neuronal activity similar to that previously observed with NP. This indicates a high complexity of the interaction between NP and nervous tissue.