The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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There have been several reports describing the usage of subaxial cervical laminar screws. However, the anatomic feasibility of placing such screws has not been thoroughly evaluated yet. ⋯ The relatively high success rate at C7, particularly of unilateral placement, suggests that laminar screw placement can be a sound alternative method for fixation at this level. However, careful preoperative CT scan evaluation and patient selection are required, particularly for bilateral fixation in women. At C3 and C6, unilateral screw placement can be considered in approximately 30% of patients after careful selection using preoperative CT scans. At C4 and C5, neither unilateral nor bilateral screw fixation is recommended for most patients.
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Experimental studies suggest that catastrophizing may worsen the prognosis of low back pain (LBP) and LBP-related disability and increase the risk of chronicity. ⋯ In routine practice, assessing the baseline score for catastrophizing does not help clinicians to predict the evolution of LBP and disability at 3 months.
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Surgical decompression of thoracic disc herniations is technically challenging because retraction of the thecal sac in this area must be avoided. Standard open thoracic discectomy procedures require fairly extensive soft tissue dissection and vertebral resection to provide safe decompression of the spinal cord. ⋯ The transforaminal approach enabled sufficient access to the midline of the spinal canal without extensive resection of the facet joint or the adjacent pedicle. Because most of the osseous and ligamentous structures were preserved, additional instrumentation was not required to prevent postoperative instability. Our early results suggested that minimally invasive thoracic discectomy by transforaminal microscopic technique is a valuable choice in the management of thoracic disc herniation.
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Unilateral facet disruptions are relatively common in the cervical spine; however, the spectrum of injury is large, and little is known regarding the magnitude of instability expected to be present in an isolated posterior osteoligamentous injury. ⋯ The PLC and facet complex are dominant stabilizers for FE and AR, respectively. The overall changes in both ROM and NZ were relatively small but consistent with an isolated posterior osteoligamentous complex injury of the Stage I flexion-distraction injury.