The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with plating (ACDFP) is commonly used for the treatment of distractive-flexion cervical spine injuries. Despite the prevalence of ACDFP, there is little biomechanical evidence for graft height selection in the unstable trauma scenario. ⋯ This study found that graft size did affect the kinematic stability of ACDFP in a series of distractive-flexion injuries; the undersized graft resulted in both facet overlap and locking of the uncovertebral joints leading to decreased ROM in lateral bending and axial rotation, whereas an oversized graft provided larger ROM decreases in flexion-extension. As such, a graft that engages the uncovertebral joint may be more advantageous in providing a rigid environment for fusion with ACDFP.
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A new approach to the interpretation of treatment success comprises the reporting of the proportion of patients whose symptoms have reduced to an acceptable level, ie, who have reached a satisfactory state. ⋯ Most spine interventions decrease pain but rarely do they totally eliminate it. Reporting of the percent of patients achieving a pain score equivalent to the "acceptable symptom state" may represent a more stringent target for denoting surgical success in the treatment of painful spinal disorders. For DH, this is ≤2, and for other degenerative pathologies it is ≤3.
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Observational Study
Correlation between preoperative spinopelvic alignment and risk of proximal junctional kyphosis after posterior-only surgical correction of Scheuermann kyphosis.
Surgical correction of Scheuermann kyphosis (SK) is challenging and plagued by relatively high rates of proximal junctional kyphosis and failure (PJK and PJF). Normal sagittal alignment of the spine is determined by pelvic geometric parameters. How these parameters correlate with the risk of developing PJK in SK is not known. ⋯ Scheuermann kyphosis patients who developed PJK appeared to have a significant postoperative deficit of LL (lumbopelvic mismatch). Lumbar lordosis decreases after surgery following correction of TK; therefore, TK correction should be planned according to preoperative PI values to avoid excessive reduction of LL in patients with higher PI values.
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Comparative Study
The impact of coronal alignment of device on radiographic degeneration in the case of total disc replacement.
Numerous studies have been conducted on the importance of radiographic parameters after a total disc replacement (TDR). Most of them have focused on sagittal alignment. There has been no research on what influence the coronal alignment or tilting of device has on radiographic parameters. ⋯ It is considered that maintaining appropriate coronal alignment of device is important in long-term success after a cervical TDR.
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There are limited data available on the impact of associated spinal (other spinal injuries [OSIs]) and extra-spinal injuries (ESIs) occurring in conjunction with fractures of the axis vertebra (C2) on clinical outcomes. ⋯ Associated injuries occurring concomitantly with C2 fractures adversely influence postoperative outcomes. In comparison to isolated C2 fractures, patients with associated injuries tend to have a greater propensity for higher health-care resource use because of more complicated and longer hospital inpatient stay.