Spine
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Comparative Study
Biomechanical comparison of unipedicular versus bipedicular kyphoplasty.
A cadaveric study comparing the biomechanics of unipedicular versus bipedicular kyphoplasty in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. ⋯ Unipedicular kyphoplasty is comparable to bipedicular kyphoplasty in the restoration of vertebral body strength, stiffness, and height in experimentally induced vertebral compression fractures. There was no greater risk for lateral wedging in the unipedicular group compared to the bipedicular group. Given the advantages of a unipedicular approach with respect to vertebral pedicle cannulation risk, operative time, radiation exposure, and cost, this study would support the use of a unipedicular approach to kyphoplasty in the treatment of vertebral compression fractures.
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An in vivo study on the rabbit lumbar spine model. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that disc regeneration can be induced by axial dynamic distraction in the rabbit intervertebral disc. The decompressed rabbit intervertebral discs showed signs of tissue recovery on a biologic, cellular, and a biomechanical level after 28 days of distraction.
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Video observation study. ⋯ Effort level can be determined validly by means of visual observation.
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A retrospective study on the correlation between preoperative pulmonary function tests, preoperative pulmonary symptoms, and postoperative pulmonary complications. ⋯ The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with the deterioration of pulmonary function tests. The posterior procedure had a very low incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications, but a transthoracic procedure increased the complications significantly. Preoperative pulmonary symptoms usually predicted abnormal results of pulmonary function tests but had no correlation with postoperative pulmonary complication.
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Graded endplate injuries were performed in porcine lumbar discs. The effects of such injuries were compared to control animals in which a sham operation was performed. ⋯ Injuries of vertebral endplates in porcine discs were found to cause degenerative changes in the disc tissue on MRI, histologic, and biochemical investigations. The severity of such degenerative changes was related to the severity of endplate injuries. Injuries of vertebral endplate may be one of the pathomechanisms leading to early changes in the disc matrix and eventually to abnormal biomechanical behavior of the whole disc. The present animal model seems to be a suitable experimental model for disc degeneration.