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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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Outcome scores in degenerative cervical disc surgery.
Forty-six consecutive patients with neck pain and arm radiculopathy were treated with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. All patients had neurological symptoms corresponding to a herniated disc and/or spondylosis at one or two cervical levels, verified by magnetic resonance imaging. The patients were stabilized with an anterior graft and randomized to either fixation with a CSLP plate or no internal fixation. ⋯ We conclude that the modified Million Index and Oswestry Index are clinically useful tools in the evaluation of outcome after degenerative cervical disc surgery. The clinical benefits of plate fixation were minimal. The outcome after surgery, measured with the Oswestry Index, Million Index and VAS for arm and neck pain, seems to correlate well with the classification of outcome by Odom.
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The objective of this study was to determine which discoligamentous structures of the lower cervical spine provide significant stability with regard to different loading conditions. Accordingly, the load-displacement properties of the normal and injured lower cervical spine were tested in vitro. Four artificially created stages of increasing discoligamentous instability of the segment C5/6 were compared to the normal C5/6 segment. ⋯ In axial rotation, only the stage 4 instability showed a significantly increased ROM and NZ compared to the intact FSU. For lateral bending, no significant differences were observed. Based on these data, we conclude that flexion/extension is the most sensitive load-direction for the tested discoligamentous instabilities.
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An analysis was made of 1176 whiplash-type neck distortions taken from a total of 3838 restrained car driver incident reports. The percentage of whiplash-type neck distortion among injured drivers increased from less than 10% in 1985 to over 30% in 1997. Most occurred in head-on crashes or crashes with multiple collisions; only 15% occurred in rear-end collisions. ⋯ A correlation between the severity of the accompanying injuries and duration of complaints was found. Lack of adequate follow-up for patients with less severe injuries posed considerable difficulties for this retrospective study. In order to better evaluate this problem, prospective studies are necessary, with documentation including diagnosis, treatments, complaint duration and type.
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Coronal decompensation following correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) has been reported to be due to the Cotrel-Dubousset rod derotation maneuver, or to a hypercorrection of the main thoracic curve. The treatment of such decompensation consists classically in observation, bracing, or extension of the instrumentation in the lumbar spine for a King 2 curve, or in the upper thoracic spine for a King 5 curve. As the postoperative decompensation is related to a hypercorrection of the main thoracic curve (relative to the compensatory curve), we hypothesized that if we were to "let the spine go" to some of its initial deformity, the balance of the patient would be improved. ⋯ These results were stable at 1-year follow-up. In the event of a persisting imbalance, we recommend, in selected cases, letting the spine go by removing all the implants located between the end vertebrae of the main thoracic curve. This adjustment or fine-tuning of the instrumentation should be done before the fusion takes place, and is best achieved with an instrumentation in which the hooks can be easily removed from the rod.