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
Traumatic vertical atlantoaxial instability: the risk associated with skull traction. Case report and literature review.
Traumatic overdistraction between C1 and C2 may occur when all the ligaments connecting C2 to the skull are ruptured, and may be manifested when an attempt to reduce C1-C2 subluxation is made by means of traction. We describe here the case of a patient with traumatic anterior atlantoaxial dislocation, who developed atlantoaxial vertical dissociation after skull traction using a Gardner-Halo with lb 4.02 (1.5 kg) of weight. ⋯ In this case, it might have been prevented by avoiding spinal traction. The aim of this report was to show that vertical dissociation may occur in C -C2 anterior dislocation submitted to spinal traction, and that other forms of reduction must be considered to treat these pathologies and avoid this potentially fatal complication.
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Vertebral arthrodesis is one of the most commonly performed, yet incompletely understood, procedures in spinal surgery. Despite major progress in internal fixation techniques, the high rate of nonunions indicates that physiologic, biologic and molecular events that are crucial to this process are not well known. This article will analyze the general biology of bone regeneration, and particularly discuss the properties and use of various bone graft materials and graft substitutes.
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The aetiology of idiopathic scoliosis: biomechanical and neuromuscular factors small curve develops due to a small defect in the neuromuscular control system and a second stage during adolescent growth in which the scoliotic curve is exacerbated by biomechanical factors.
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The goal of this systematic literature review was to determine, for patients with degenerative disc disease, which method of single-level anterior cervical interbody fusion using the anterior approach gives the best clinical and radiological outcome. The number of new techniques for obtaining a solid fusion has increased rapidly, but the rationale for choosing between different techniques is unclear. Randomised comparative studies on anterior cervical interbody fusions were identified in a sensitive Medline, Cochrane and Current Contents database search. ⋯ Good clinical outcome (disability, pain and symptoms) ratings varied from 66% to 82%. A meta-analysis to determine the best method for an anterior interbody fusion could not be performed due to the heterogeneity of the methods reported and because no standard outcome parameter was used. From this systematic literature review, a gold standard for the treatment of degenerative disc disease could not be identified.
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The goal of this systematic literature review was to determine, for patients with degenerative disc disease, which method of single-level anterior cervical interbody fusion using the anterior approach gives the best clinical and radiological outcome. The number of new techniques for obtaining a solid fusion has increased rapidly, but the rationale for choosing between different techniques is unclear. Randomised comparative studies on anterior cervical interbody fusions were identified in a sensitive Medline, Cochrane and Current Contents database search. ⋯ Good clinical outcome (disability, pain and symptoms) ratings varied from 66% to 82%. A meta-analysis to determine the best method for an anterior interbody fusion could not be performed due to the heterogeneity of the methods reported and because no standard outcome parameter was used. From this systematic literature review, a gold standard for the treatment of degenerative disc disease could not be identified.