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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The aim of this study was to determine a plain radiographic criterion for determining the feasibility of using the standard anterior Smith-Robinson supramanubrial approach for anterior surgery down to T2 or T3. ⋯ If a line from the intended skin incision to the LIV passes over the top of the manubrium, a standard Smith-Robinson approach without sternotomy can be successfully used.
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Progression of kyphotic deformity at the middle/lower cervical spine can cause difficulty with horizontal gaze, so compensation at other spinopelvic parts may occur. However, the precise mechanism remains unclear. The present study investigated the effect of correction surgery for cervical kyphosis on the compensatory mechanisms in overall spinopelvic sagittal alignment. ⋯ The present study demonstrated that C0-1 angle and CAA are more important in the compensatory mechanism for kyphotic deformity at the middle/lower cervical spine compared to downward parameters. That is, to maintain horizontal gaze, lordosis increases at the cranio-cervical junction with greater kyphosis at the middle/lower cervical spine. Correction of cervical kyphosis in the middle/lower cervical spine resulted in normalization of the C0-1 angle and CAA because the compensatory mechanism at the cranio-cervical junction for obtaining horizontal gaze was no longer necessary after surgical intervention.
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Bone mineral density (BMD) measured using quantitative computed tomography (QCT) has been shown to correlate with bone mechanical properties. Knowledge of BMD within specific anatomic regions of the spine is valuable to surgeons who must secure instrumentation to the vertebrae, to medical device developers who design screws and disc replacements, and to researchers who assign mechanical properties to computational models. The objective of this study was to comprehensively characterize BMD in the cervical spine of young healthy adults. ⋯ These data can serve as a baseline to identify BMD changes in older and symptomatic patients. This data set is also the first report of volumetric bone density within different anatomic regions of the atlas and axis of the cervical spine. The finding of higher BMD in females is in agreement with the previous QCT results but contradicts DEXA results that are known to be dependent upon bone size.
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Recently, several authors have proposed techniques for improving the fusion rate in pediatric posterior occipitocervical fusion including a variety of implants and the use of bone morphogenetic protein. A technique by Koop et al. using a periosteal flap for occipitocervical arthrodesis was described in 1984. ⋯ In small children with traumatic upper cervical spine instability, the periosteal turndown technique may be used as a safe adjunct for occipitocervical fusions.