Spine
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Cross-sectional. ⋯ Sagittal spinal alignment is found to be changing as a child grows. There is a statistically significant difference among different age groups, especially at cervicothoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbosacral junctions. The position of the sacrum (inclination and translation), and spatial orientation, as well as the global magnitude of thoracic kyphosis, and lumbar lordosis changes with growth. These findings should be taken into consideration for the young patients who require spinal instrumentation. The question "whether sagittal alignment should be restored according to the normative data for the child's age or to the normative data for the adulthood" remains to be answered.
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A historic cohort to determine short-term complications after 115 corrective osteotomies of the cervical and lumbar spine in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. ⋯ High complication rates in this group of patients are partly due to the difficult surgery but also to the underlying disease. The surgery should be concentrated in specialized centers.
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The progression of intervertebral disc degeneration following anterolateral "stab" of adult rabbit lumbar discs by 16-gauge hypodermic needle to a limited (5-mm) depth was studied for up to 24 weeks using magnetic resonance imaging, radiograph, and histologic outcome measures. ⋯ Stabbing the anterolateral anulus fibrosus of adult rabbit lumbar discs with a 16-gauge hypodermic needle to a limited (5-mm) depth results in a number of slowly progressive and reproducible magnetic resonance imaging, radiograph, and histologic changes over 24 weeks that show a similarity to changes seen in human intervertebral disc degeneration. This model would appear suitable for studying pathogenesis and pathophysiology of intervertebral disc degeneration and testing safety and efficacy of novel treatments of intervertebral disc degeneration.
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Study of two cohorts with a differing severity of disease before and after treatment. ⋯ The German version of the cervical NASS patient questionnaire (NASS) is a valid instrument for patients with cervical spine health problems. As this instrument is also sensitive to change, it is recommended for use. Moreover, the present study gives evidence for the validity of the original cervical NASS questionnaire in English.
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Clinical Trial
Intraoperative Iso-C C-arm navigation in cervical spinal surgery: review of the first 52 cases.
Fifty-two study participants underwent cervical spine surgery using intraoperative Iso-C imaging with or without spinal navigation. ⋯ Iso-C intraoperative fluoroscopy is an accurate and rapid way to perform CT-quality image-guided navigation in cervical spinal surgery. In most cases, it obviates the need for postoperative imaging.