Outcomes in patients with minimal back pain undergoing prophylactic lumbar fusion for iatrogenic instability.

For most patients undergoing lumbar fusion, back pain is a substantial part of their preoperative symptomatology. Occasionally, there are patients with minimal back pain in whom the extent of decompression required to treat leg symptoms requires a concomitant fusion to prevent postoperative instability. Although these patients may obtain relief of their leg pain, an additional concern is whether they will develop increased back pain after fusion.

Complications, reoperation rates, and health-care cost following surgical treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Background: Surgery remains the mainstay for management of lumbar spondylolisthesis and is considered an effective therapeutic modality following unsuccessful nonoperative treatment. Surgical procedures include decompression, decompression with instrumented arthrodesis, and decompression with noninstrumented arthrodesis. The purpose of this study was to examine the complications, reoperation rates, and health-care costs associated with each of these procedures.

Cyst-ventricle stent as primary or salvage treatment for posterior fossa arachnoid cysts.

Object: The optimal treatment of symptomatic posterior fossa arachnoid cysts is controversial. Current options include open or endoscopic resection, fenestration, or cyst-peritoneal shunt placement. There are potential drawbacks with all options.