Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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The goal of this study was to compare the rates of solid arthrodesis and complications following multilevel, instrumented anterior cervical fusion in patients treated with and without bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). ⋯ The overall rate of bony arthrodesis was increased following the use of BMP in multilevel anterior cervical fusion. Traditional methods without BMP had a high rate of pseudarthrosis. The complications associated with the use of BMP appeared to be dose related and of low incidence when BMP is used in doses equal to or less than 1.1 mg/level.
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The presence of a "July effect," where the influx of new residents and fellows at teaching hospitals every July may negatively affect patient care and outcomes, is widely debated. The authors used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to identify all cases of spinal surgery and examine outcomes among patients who underwent surgery in July compared with those who underwent surgery in other months. ⋯ This study of nationwide hospitalizations demonstrates that the influx of new residents and fellows in July has a negligible effect on periprocedural outcomes following spinal surgery.
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Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has been increasingly used to treat degenerative spine disease, including that in patients in whom earlier decompressive procedures have failed. Reexploration in these cases is always challenging and is thought to pose a higher risk of complications. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no current studies specifically analyzing the effects of previous lumbar decompressive surgeries on the complication rates of open TLIF. ⋯ In the hands of an experienced surgeon, revision open TLIF does not necessarily increase the risk of perioperative complications compared with primary TLIF. Two or more previous lumbar decompressive procedures, however, increase the risk of inadvertent DTs and neural injury.