Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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The authors used a rat model to assess spinal cord compression following an incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). ⋯ The authors' results suggest that spinal cord compression after the initial injury is an additional mechanism by which SCI worsens, and that the mechanism of this injury occurs rapidly. These data, however, do not support duration of compression as a significant variable.
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Case Reports
Perforation of the right cardiac ventricular wall by polymethylmethacrylate after lumbar kyphoplasty.
The authors report the case of a 74-year-old woman who underwent an L-2 vertebral kyphoplasty. The patient experienced delayed postoperative hemodynamic deterioration that may have been caused by embolization of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) cement through the right cardiac ventricular wall. Cardiac and pulmonary embolization of bone cement can develop as a complication of vertebral kyphoplasty. Surgeons should be alert to this potentially life-threatening condition when performing this increasingly popular form of spine procedure.
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In this study, the authors assessed the construct validity and the reliability of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQOL-Bref) questionnaire in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and compared the performance of the WHOQOL-Bref and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in assessing quality of life (QOL) in patients with CSM. ⋯ The WHOQOL-Bref, like the SF-36, is valid and reliable in assessing outcome in patients with CSM. It measures impairment in CSM in a more uniform manner than the SF-36, but its domains are less responsive to postoperative changes. Because the WHOQOL-Bref measures different constructs and has additive value, it should be used along with the SF-36 for QOL assessment in patients with CSM.
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Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH) is a rare disease. The goal of this study was to clarify the treatment results and management options in SSEH. ⋯ Impaired preoperative hemostasis contributes to larger size of SSEH, high probability of postoperative recurrence of spinal epidural hematoma, and poor functional recovery following surgical evacuation. Incomplete spinal cord dysfunction before surgery predicts good outcome and warrants emergent evacuation of SSEH especially in the cervical and thoracic regions, where the clots are located in proximity to the spinal cord.