Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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Sagittal spinal misalignment (SSM) is an established cause of pain and disability. Treating physicians must be familiar with the radiographic findings consistent with SSM. ⋯ In this review the authors describe the proper analysis of spinopelvic alignment for surgical planning. Online videos supplement the text to better illustrate the key concepts.
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Multicenter Study
Sagittal realignment failures following pedicle subtraction osteotomy surgery: are we doing enough?: Clinical article.
Pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) is a surgical procedure that is frequently performed on patients with sagittal spinopelvic malalignment. Although it allows for substantial spinopelvic realignment, suboptimal realignment outcomes have been reported in up to 33% of patients. The authors' objective in the present study was to identify differences in radiographic profiles and surgical procedures between patients achieving successful versus failed spinopelvic realignment following PSO. ⋯ Patients with failed PSO realignments had significantly larger preoperative spinopelvic deformity than patients in whom realignment was successful. Despite their apparent need for greater correction, the patients in the failed realignment group only received the same amount of correction as those in the successfully realigned patients. A single-level standard PSO may not achieve optimal outcome in patients with high preoperative spinopelvic sagittal malalignment. Patients with large spinopelvic deformities should receive larger osteotomies or additional corrective procedures beyond PSOs to avoid undercorrection.
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The load-sharing score (LSS) of vertebral body comminution is predictive of results after short-segment posterior instrumentation of thoracolumbar burst fractures. Some authors have posited that an LSS > 6 is predictive of neurological injury, ligamentous injury, and the need for surgical intervention. However, the authors of the present study hypothesized that the LSS does not predict ligamentous or neurological injury. ⋯ The LSS does not uniformly correlate with the PLC injury, neurological status, or empirical clinical decision making. The LSSs of only one observer correlated significantly with PLC injury. There were no significant correlations between the LSS as determined by any observer and neurological status or clinical decision making.
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Heterotopic ossification (HO) after cervical arthroplasty can limit the mobility of an artificial disc. In this study the authors used CT scanning to assess the formation of HO with the goal of investigating the correlation between the carpentry of arthroplasty, formation of HO, mobility, and clinical outcomes. ⋯ Shell kyphosis and inadequate endplate coverage have adverse effects on the formation of HO and segmental mobility after cervical arthroplasty with the Bryan artificial disc. Appropriate carpentry is the more important factor in determining the maintenance of segmental motion. Although the midterm clinical outcome remained similarly good regardless of HO, the carpentry of cervical arthroplasty should not be overlooked. Further studies are needed to clarify the etiology of HO.
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Various kinds of trunk braces have been used to achieve bone healing in cases of pediatric lumbar spondylolysis. However, the optimal brace for achieving bone healing is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to determine in what types of spondylolysis bone healing can be achieved and how long it takes. ⋯ Patients with early-stage defects are the best candidates for conservative treatment with a hard brace because more than 90% of such cases can be healed in 3 months.