Characteristics of Postoperative C5 Palsy Following Anterior Decompression and Fusion Surgery for Cervical Degenerative Disorders: Trends Associated with Advancements in Surgical Technique.

Objective: To investigate trends in the characteristics of postoperative C5 palsy following anterior decompression and fusion associated with advancements in this surgical procedure to treat cervical degenerative disorders.

Methods: We included 801 consecutive patients who underwent anterior decompression and fusion for cervical degenerative disorders from 2006 to 2019 and investigated the incidence, onset, and prognosis of C5 palsy. In addition, we compared the incidence of C5 palsy with that found in our previous investigation.

A unidirectional porous beta-tricalcium phosphate material (Affinos®) for reconstruction of bony defects after excision of fibular bone for spinal surgery graft.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the bone regeneration-inducing capability of Affinos®, a newly developed, high-porosity unidirectional porous β-TCP artificial bone. We compared the ability of Affinos® and OSferion®, a commercially available β-TCP product, to induce bone regeneration following implantation into bony defects left after fibula harvesting for spinal fusion surgery. Study subjects underwent surgery to harvest non-vascularized fibula grafts for spinal fusion surgery and were implanted with either Affinos® (19 patients) or OSferion® (15 patients, control group) at the defect site.

Comparison of clinical outcomes between laminoplasty, posterior decompression with instrumented fusion, and anterior decompression with fusion for K-line (-) cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Purpose: The K-line, which is a virtual line that connects the midpoints of the anteroposterior diameter of the spinal canal at C2 and C7 in a plain lateral radiogram, is a useful preoperative predictive indicator for sufficient decompression by laminoplasty (LMP) for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). K-line is defined as (+) when the peak of OPLL does not exceed the K-line, and is defined as (-) when the peak of OPLL exceeds the K-line. For patients with K-line (-) OPLL, LMP often results in poor outcome.

Two-staged hindfoot reconstruction with vascularized fibula graft for calcaneal osteomyelitis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a case report.

Hindfoot reconstruction after calcaneal osteomyelitis is a challenging procedure designed to restore the weight bearing function of the heel and to allow a functional reconstruction of the Achilles tendon. Some patients require subtalar arthrodesis after primary calcaneal osteosyntesis or hindfoot reconstruction due to the considerable pain associated with weight-bearing caused by the irregular surface of the subtalar joint. To date, no reports have shown a case of hindfoot reconstruction with subtalar arthrodesis using a pedicled vascularized fibula graft.

Perioperative complications of anterior cervical decompression with fusion in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: a retrospective, multi-institutional study.

Background: Anterior decompression with fusion (ADF) for patients with cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is reportedly associated with a higher incidence of complications than is laminoplasty. However, the frequency of perioperative complications associated with ADF for cervical OPLL has not been fully established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of perioperative complications, especially neurological complications, following ADF performed to relieve compressive cervical myelopathy due to cervical OPLL.

Multiple neck operations in a patient with severe motor tics because of Tourette's syndrome: a case report.

Introduction: In patients with Tourette's syndrome who have severe motor tics, involuntary neck movements can enhance degenerative changes in the cervical spine, occasionally causing myelopathy. There have been a limited number of reports on surgical treatment for cervical myelopathy caused by Tourette's syndrome, and a consensus for surgical treatment has not been fully established. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that describes a case of cervical myelopathy in a patient with Tourette's syndrome with severe motor tics who has undergone multiple surgeries of the cervical spine.

Association between serum leptin and bone metabolic markers, and the development of heterotopic ossification of the spinal ligament in female patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Obesity is a risk factor for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the spine, which is characterized by heterotopic bone formation in the posterior longitudinal spinal ligament. Hyperleptinemia is a common feature of obese people and leptin is believed to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of OPLL. However, the association between leptin and bone metabolism and the development of OPLL is not understood fully.

C5 palsy following anterior decompression and spinal fusion for cervical degenerative diseases.

Postoperative C5 palsy is a common complication after cervical spine decompression surgery. However, the incidence, prognosis, and etiology of C5 palsy after anterior decompression with spinal fusion (ASF) have not yet been fully established. In the present study, we analyzed the clinical and radiological characteristics of patients who developed C5 palsy after ASF for cervical degenerative diseases.

Evidence of enhanced expression of osteopontin in spinal hyperostosis of the twy mouse.

Study Design: Gene expression and protein localization of osteopontin (OPN) in spinal hyperostosis of the twy mouse by means of in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and Northern blot analysis.

Objective: To verify the involvement of OPN in spinal hyperostosis in the twy mouse and elucidate its ossification pattern at molecular levels.

Summary Of Background Data: OPN is a molecule that consistently colocalizes with ectopic calcification in human pathologic conditions.

Cervical myelopathy in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Object: The authors assessed the clinical course in patients with a narrowed cervical spinal canal caused by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), but who have no or only mild myelopathy. Additionally, the authors analyzed the factors contributing to the development and aggravation of myelopathy in patients with OPLLinduced spinal canal stenosis.

Methods: Between 1997 and 2004, the authors selected treatments for patients with cervical OPLL in whom the residual space available for the spinal cord was < or = 12 mm.

Abnormal course of the vertebral artery at the craniovertebral junction in patients with Down syndrome visualized by three-dimensional CT angiography.

Introduction: We determined the incidence of vertebral artery (VA) anomalies at the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) in patients with Down syndrome, and characterized the VA anomalies.

Methods: The course of the VA in 46 consecutive patients who were due to undergo posterior arthrodesis surgery at the CVJ were evaluated by three-dimensional CT angiography (3DCTA). Included were five patients with Down syndrome who suffered from myelopathy due to atlantoaxial subluxation.

The extent of ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine associated with nucleotide pyrophosphatase gene and leptin receptor gene polymorphisms.

Study Design: A case-control study using radiograph findings and the PCR assay with regard to the susceptibility and the severity of ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine (OPLL).

Objective: To analyze whether polymorphisms of the nucleotide pyrophosphatase (NPPS) gene and the leptin receptor gene predispose to an increased frequency and severity of OPLL.

Summary Of Background Data: The NPPS gene is responsible for ectopic ossification in the ttw mouse, an animal model for OPLL.

Anomalous vertebral artery at the craniovertebral junction in a patient with Down syndrome. Case report.

The authors report a case of a patient with Down syndrome in whom the abnormal course of the right vertebral artery (VA) at the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) was accurately demonstrated on three-dimensional (3D) computerized tomography (CT) angiography. The patient was a 5-year-old boy, who developed severe myelopathy. Bone abnormalities were also present at the CVJ, including atlantoaxial and occipitoatlantal instabilities, a hypoplastic odontoid process, and ossiculum terminale.