The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Spine trauma is relatively common, and each year approximately 10,000 to 17,000 people in the United States will sustain a spinal cord injury and approximately 150,000 to 160,000 will fracture their spinal column. Posttraumatic spinal deformity is a common potential complication of spinal injury and poses one of the greatest challenges in spinal surgery. ⋯ Posttraumatic spinal deformity is a common complication of spinal injury, and it is therefore essential for patients with vertebral column injuries to have a careful initial evaluation, close follow-up, and early intervention when needed. Once posttraumatic deformity is present, successful outcome is achievable assuming a thorough, systematic, and technically well-executed surgical intervention is performed.
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Comparative Study
Use of navigation-assisted fluoroscopy to decrease radiation exposure during minimally invasive spine surgery.
Minimally invasive surgery decreases postoperative pain and disability. However, limited views of the surgical field require extensive use of intraoperative fluoroscopy that may expose the surgical team to higher levels of ionizing radiation. ⋯ The use of navigation-assisted fluoroscopy is feasible and safe for minimally invasive spine surgery. Radiation exposure is decreased to the patient as well as the surgical team.
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Injuries at the cervicothoracic junction are common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. These injuries present challenges for both initial and follow-up imagings. ⋯ Cervicothoracic injuries are common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and may be difficult to follow with conventional imaging techniques. Stand-up MRI is a relatively new modality that may offer significant advantages over conventional imaging because of the ability to evaluate the cervicothoracic junction in a more functional position and the lack of a confining space such as that found in standard MRI units.
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The study is a prospective observational study of 48 continuous patients with symptomatic lumbar degenerative disk disease. Each patient underwent discography, MRI, and a biochemical analysis of disk lavage fluid. ⋯ There are only weak correlations between demographic, discogram, and radiographic variables. Response to discogram cannot be predicted by non-invasive means. The disk lavage method was unable to identify the presence of specific inflammatory peptides with multi-plex immunoassays and ELISA.