European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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To (1) clarify the role of various risk factors in the development of ASD, (2) compare instrumentation configuration with the development of ASD, (3) correlate the radiological incidence of ASD and its clinical outcome and (4) compare the clinical outcome between patients with radiological evidence of ASD and without ASD. ⋯ Patients with preoperative disc degeneration at an adjacent segment were more at risk for the development of ASD. Other risk factors including instrumentation configuration were not significantly associated with ASD. There was no correlation between both the radiological development of ASD and its clinical outcome and the clinical outcome of patients with and without ASD.
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Novel and better vertebral body replacement constructs are always desired by surgeons. Endplate geometry is crucial for the design of those implants, but current literature on that topic is very scarce. The authors present a morphometric study of thoracolumbar vertebral endplates, the goal of which was to analyze the geometry of endplates from T10 inferior to L3 superior by employing data from CT scans, as well as to verify the reliability of data derived from the CT measurement. ⋯ The mean difference between CT and cadaveric measurements was small (Cronbach alpha > 0.8). Those morphologic parameters, especially the concavity of endplates, should be taken into consideration when designing novel vertebral body replacement constructs. CT measurement data could be used to calculate most suitable geometric parameters of those implants.
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The innovative BoneWelding(®) technology, where ultrasound energy bonds bioresorbable implants to bone, was tested for its feasibility in spine surgery and its local thermal effects. The three tested concepts consisted of implementation of a resorbable plating system, two converging polymer pins and suture anchors to the cervical vertebral bodies. Bioresorbable polylactide implants (PLDLLA 70/30) were inserted ventrally into the third and fourth vertebral body of seven sheep, of which six were sacrificed at 2 months and one sheep immediately after temperature measurements during implant insertion. ⋯ The application of two converging pins, parallel inserted polymer pins, or fusion of the implant to the polymer plates did not affect the overall excellent tissue tolerance of the technology. Temperature increase during insertion was noticed but never exceeded 47°C for less than 1 s. The BoneWelding(®) technology was proven to be safe and easy to apply.