The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Despite potentially devastating consequences, pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients undergoing spinal surgery remains poorly understood. To the best of our knowledge, few large studies have examined the prevalence and risk factors of PE after spinal surgery. ⋯ This retrospective analysis of a nationally representative database identified older age, longer anesthesia time, and spinal trauma as risk factors for increased incidence of postoperative PE. Surgeons should be aware of the increased risk of postoperative PE in these subgroups of patients.
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Percutaneous intradiscal therapies are gaining popularity as a regenerative treatment option for spinal disc degeneration. The risks, benefits, and possible complications associated with such procedures have been poorly defined. As these procedures are performed with increasing frequency, the likelihood that clinicians will be faced with significant complications also increases. ⋯ Complications associated with the intradiscal injection of agents, such as stem cells, fibrin glue, adipose tissue, or bone marrow, have been poorly defined. Given the nature of the degenerating disc, serious adverse events, including discitis, osteomyelitis, and extrusion of disc contents, may occur.
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Spinal cord injury can lead to severe functional impairments secondary to axonal damage, neuronal loss, and demyelination. The injured spinal cord has limited regrowth of damaged axons. Treatment remains controversial, given inconsistent functional improvement. Previous studies demonstrated functional recovery of rats with spinal cord contusion after transplantation of rat fetal neural stem cells. ⋯ Acute local and distal transplantation of hNSCs into the contused spinal cord led to significant functional recovery in the rat model. No statistical difference was found between the two techniques.