The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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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.
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Imaging modalities used to visualize spinal anatomy intraoperatively include X-ray studies, fluoroscopy, and computed tomography (CT). All of these emit ionizing radiation. ⋯ Intraoperative CT navigation increases the radiation exposure to the patient and reduces the radiation exposure to the surgeon when compared with values reported in the literature. Intraoperative CT navigation improves the accuracy of spine instrumentation with acceptable patient radiation exposure and reduced surgical team exposure. Surgeons should be aware of the implications of radiation exposure to both the patient and the surgical team when using intraoperative CT navigation.