Complete Versus Incomplete Surgical Resection in Intramedullary Ependymomas: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Study Design: Systematic review.

Objective: To compare outcomes of complete versus incomplete resection in primary intramedullary spinal cord ependymoma.

Methods: A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and Embase databases was conducted by 2 independent investigators.

Nonsurgical treatment of thoracolumbar spinal fractures.

The transitional anatomy of the thoracolumbar spine makes it vulnerable to injury from high-energy vehicular crashes and falls. The definitive management of patients with thoracolumbar spinal fractures is dependent on the presence and extent of neurologic injury, the presence and magnitude of acute deformity, and an estimate concerning spinal stability. It is well established that neurologic deficits generally improve without surgery.

Incidence of vertebral artery thrombosis in cervical spine trauma: correlation with severity of spinal cord injury.

Background And Purpose: The incidence of blunt traumatic vertebral artery dissection/thrombosis varies widely in published trauma series and is associated with spinal trauma. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of traumatic vertebral artery thrombosis (VAT) in cervically injured patients by using routine MR angiography (MRA) and MR imaging and identify associations with the severity of neurologic injury.

Methods: A retrospective review of 1283 patients with nonpenetrating cervical spine fractures with or without an associated spinal cord injury (SCI) was performed.