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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Review Case Reports
Calcified pseudomeningocele of the lumbar spine: a review.
In this article, we review the English literature of calcified pseudomeningoceles in the lumbar region. ⋯ The treatment is surgicel removal and the decision to treat is based on patient symptoms and correlating these with imaging. There is an average reported follow-up of 1.7 years postoperatively for these patients and the reported outcome after surgery is good.
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Intervertebral disc degeneration, a main cause of back pain, is an endemic problem and a big economic burden for the health care system. Current treatments are symptom relieving but do not address underlying problems-biological and structural deterioration of the disc. Tissue engineering is an emerging approach for the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration since it restores the functionality of native tissues. Although numerous studies have focused on the nucleus pulposus tissue engineering and achieved successes in laboratory settings, disc tissue engineering without annulus fibrosus for the end stage of disc degeneration is deemed to fail. The purpose of this article is to review the advancement of annulus fibrosus tissue engineering. ⋯ Despite the promising results in disc tissue engineering, there is still much work to be done regarding the clinical application.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Dysphagia after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a prospective study comparing two anterior surgical approaches.
The Smith-Robinson approach is commonly used to expose the vertebrae in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Postoperative dysphagia has been frequently reported following this procedure. In this approach, surgical dissection can be carried out either lateral (LEO) or medial (MEO) to the omohyoid muscle. The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of dysphagia between the LEO and MEO groups. ⋯ The findings from this study suggest that the LEO approach should be selected if the level of surgery involves C3-C4. For C6-C7 surgery, however, a left-sided MEO approach should be used. Depending on surgeon's preference, either approach can be used if both cervical levels are involved.
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Review Case Reports
Thoracolumbar intramedullary subependymoma with multiple cystic formation: a case report and review.
An intramedullary subependymoma is rare, particularly in the thoracolumbar region. Moreover, a radiographical obvious cystic formation of subependymoma of spinal cord rarely occurs in comparison to ependymoma. ⋯ This report presents this rare case, a review of the literature associated with thoracolumbar subependymomas, and a discussion of the clinical and radiographical characteristics.
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Clinical Trial
The high-risk discectomy patient: prevention of reherniation in patients with large anular defects using an anular closure device.
With lumbar discectomy for disc herniation, surgeons must choose between limited nucleus removal associated with higher reherniation risk or more aggressive nucleus removal associated with increased back pain and disc degeneration. This trade-off is particularly challenging in patients with large anular defects, which carry the highest risk of reherniation. We examined the effect of an anular closure device on reherniation and clinical outcomes. ⋯ The low reherniation rate in patients at high-risk of reherniation based on anular defect size, despite discectomy being only limited, suggests that an anular closure device may reduce reherniation risk. Clinical outcomes for pain and function at 1 and 2 years post-operatively compared favorably with literature reports. Further study in a randomized controlled trial is required to confirm these results.