Spine
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Comparative Study
A prospective comparison of surgical approach for anterior L4-L5 fusion: laparoscopic versus mini anterior lumbar interbody fusion.
A prospective comparison of 50 consecutive patients who underwent L4-L5 anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF). ⋯ There does not appear to be a significant advantage at the L4-L5 level of the transperitoneal laparoscopic surgical approach when compared with an open mini-ALIF retroperitoneal technique.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Twelve-month follow-up of a controlled trial of intradiscal thermal anuloplasty for back pain due to internal disc disruption.
Case-control study. ⋯ In carefully selected cases, IDTA can eliminate or dramatically reduce the pain of internal disc disruption in a substantial proportion of patients and appears to be superior to conventional conservative care for internal disc disruption.
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Prospective case series. ⋯ A cohort of patients with chronic unremitting low back pain of discogenic origin whose symptoms had failed to improve with aggressive nonoperative care demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement on the SF-36 and the VAS scores at a minimum follow-up of 1 year after IDET. The positive results should be validated with placebo-controlled randomized trials and studies that compare IDET with alternative treatments.-
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In vitro study to determine occupational radiation exposure during lumbar fluoroscopy. ⋯ Fluoroscopically assisted thoracolumbar pedicle screw placement exposes the spine surgeon to significantly greater radiation levels than other, nonspinal musculoskeletal procedures that involve the use of a fluoroscope. In fact, dose rates are up to 10-12 times greater. Spine surgeons performing fluoroscopically assisted thoracolumbar procedures should monitor their annual radiation exposure. Measures to reduce radiation exposure and surgeon awareness of high-exposure body and hand positions are certainly called for.