Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
-
The authors undertook this study to evaluate the incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI) in geriatric patients (> or = 70 years of age) and examine the impact of patient age, extent of neurological injury, and spinal level of injury on the mortality rate associated with traumatic SCI. ⋯ Spinal cord injuries in older patients are becoming more prevalent. The mortality rate in this patient group is much greater than in younger patients and should be taken into account when aggressive interventions are considered and in counseling families regarding prognosis.
-
Case Reports
Progressive myelopathy due to idiopathic intraspinal tumoral calcinosis of the cervical spine. Case report.
Tumoral calcinosis is a rare disorder that most often occurs in periarticular regions of the extremities. Here, the authors report on an extremely rare case of idiopathic intraspinal tumoral calcinosis of the cervical spine. This 54-year-old man presented with a 2-week history of progressive cervical myelopathy. ⋯ The symptoms disappeared completely after surgery. In all previously reported cases of cervical tumoral calcinosis, the lesion was located in the paraspinal soft tissue, with bone and facet joint involvement. The present case is the first reported instance of cervical tumoral calcinosis localized only in the spinal canal.
-
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between adjacent-segment degeneration (ASD) and pelvic parameters in the patients with spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. Sagittal balance is the most important risk and prognostic factor in the development of ASD. The pelvic incidence angle (PIA) is an important anatomical parameter in determining the sagittal curvature of the spine and in the individual variability of the sacral slope and the lordotic curve. ⋯ Conclusions. The development of ASD is closely related to postoperative PIA and PTA, not preoperative PIA and PTA. The measurement of postoperative PIA can be used as a new indirect method to predict the ASD.
-
Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) is the most common type of spinal arteriovenous malformation and may cause progressive myelopathy but is usually treatable in the early stages by direct surgery or intravascular embolization. Selective spinal angiography has been the gold standard for diagnosis, but angiographically occult DAVF is not uncommon. A 67-year-old man presented with a 2-year history of progressive paraparesis. ⋯ The authors successfully occluded the draining vein through surgery, and they observed that the fistula was low flow. The patient exhibited improvement in his symptoms, and postoperative MR imaging confirmed closure of the fistula. Selective CT angiography is useful in locating the draining vein of angiographically occult DAVF and therefore minimizing the extent of the surgical procedure.