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
-
To evaluate the clinical and radiological outcomes of elderly (>75 years old) patients who underwent spinal instrumented fusion surgery. ⋯ Spinal fixation and fusion in patients older than 75 years old grants good results in terms of quality of life but the rate of morbidity is higher than standard spine surgery. Rate of fusion especially is still a critical point.
-
Sagittal imbalance is a predictor of failure after surgery for lumbar degenerative pathology. For this reason, specialists advocate correction of sagittal deformity and systematically perform preoperative standing whole spine films. Such diagnostic investigations expose patients to significant doses of radiation. The authors propose an easier radiographic investigation helpful as a screening test to identify patients likely to have sagittal imbalance. ⋯ This study preliminarily suggests that the SLLP film can be a useful screening test for sagittal balance abnormalities.
-
The Myelopathy Disability Index and the Neck Disability Index are widely used to assess outcome in cervical spine surgery. Short Form (SF) 36 is a generic measure of health which can be used to measure health gains across a wide variety of conditions. The aim of the current study is to assess long-term outcomes using these measures in a cohort of patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). ⋯ We have used generic and condition-specific outcome measures of health and shown that in patients with CSM treated surgically, up to 70% can expect improvement in their quality of life. These outcome measures are easy to collect and provide objective evidence of changes in quality of life and disability and can help quantify the potential health gains that can be achieved.
-
The pathomechanism of cervical myelopathy due to cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (C-OPLL) remains unclear. No previous literature has quantified the influence of dynamic factors on cervical myelopathy due to C-OPLL. The purpose was to investigate the influence of dynamic factors on the spinal column in the patients with C-OPLL using CT scan after myelography (MCT). ⋯ Dynamic factors are seen both in cervical myelopathy patients with the continuous type of OPLL and others. Deterioration of myelopathy could be induced by motion effects even in the connection department of OPLL.