Spine
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Prospective clinical, x-ray, and magnetic resonance imaging investigation following total lumbar disc replacement (TDR) with ProDisc II (Synthes, Paoli, PA). ⋯ TDR proved to have a beneficial effect with respect to adjacent level disc preservation. The degenerative changes were mild, occurred late after surgery and did not reveal a negative effect on postoperative clinical outcome. There was no significant correlation between index-level ROM and the occurrence of ALD (P > 0.05).TDR was, however, associated with a progression of index-level FJD in a considerable number of patients, particularly at the lumbosacral junction. Lower segmental mobility and less favorable clinical results point to the fact that a particular cohort of patients may predominantly be affected in which TDR shows inferior compatibility with the index-segment's biomechanics.
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Prospective study of normal sagittal global spinal balance in the Caucasian adult population. ⋯ Asymptomatic adults tend to stand with a stable global balance and it is expected that 95% of normal adults have an SSA and ST between 110° to 150° and 85° to 100°, respectively. C7 plumbline in front of the HA is not necessarily associated with a spinal pathology. Results suggest that in adults, anterior displacement of C7 plumbline with respect to sacrum cannot be attributed solely to aging and should raise a suspicion for the risk of developing spinal pathology.
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Systematic literature review. ⋯ Based on this systematic review of the literature only very low to moderate quality studies could be identified to address clinical questions related to TL spine trauma. These findings suggest the need for further study, including emphasis on higher quality studies.
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Systematic review of the literature and prospective survey study. ⋯ The majority of spine surgeons prefer to decompress the acutely injured spinal cord within 24 hours. The majority of spine surgeons prefer to decompress the cervical spine for patients with complete or incomplete cervical SCI within 24 hours. Early decompression (within 24 hours) should be considered as part of the therapeutic management of any patient with SCI, particularly those with cervical SCI. Very early decompression (within 12 hours) should be considered for a patient with an incomplete cervical SCI (with the possible exception of central cord syndrome).
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Comparative Study
The mechanical effect of commercially pure titanium and polyetheretherketone rods on spinal implants at the operative and adjacent levels.
Single-level cadaveric lumbar constructs were instrumented with either polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or commercially pure (CP) titanium (Ti) rods and biomechanically evaluated. Strain from gauged bone screws and interbody (IB) spacers, kinematic motion, and caudal disc pressure measurements were recorded during testing. ⋯ Rigid CP Ti rods resulted in increased screw strain (bone-screw interface forces) and less interbody spacer compression (higher stress shielding). Furthermore, there was a trend toward decreased intradiscal pressure with Ti rods at the caudal segment. These trends suggest that segments instrumented with PEEK more closely mimicked intact physiologic loading in the subadjacent level, which may reduce the likelihood of adjacent level disease.