Ventral discectomy with pmma interbody fusion for cervical disc disease: long-term results in 249 patients.

Study Design: Retrospective study of patients who underwent ventral discectomy and polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) interbody fusion for cervical radiculopathy.

Objectives: To evaluate the long-term outcome after ventral discectomy and PMMA interbody fusion and to compare it with previous data from other surgical techniques for the treatment of cervical radiculopathy.

Summary Of Background Data: Because PMMA interbody fusion after ventral discectomy does not result in solid bony fusion in all cases, a good long-term outcome using this surgical technique has been questioned.

Cavernous haemangiomas of the spinal cord. A review of 117 cases.

Intramedullary spinal cord cavernous haemangiomas are rare lesions that can cause severe myelopathic symptoms. The purpose of the present study was to define the pattern of clinical presentation, part of natural history, prognostic factors and therapeutic strategies considering both our own experience and reports from the literature. The data of 48 studies (published between 1903 and 1996), presenting information of all together 107 patients (108 lesions) regarding pre-treatment clinical and radiological factors, treatment strategies, and the outcome, plus our own experience of nine patients were retrospectively re-analyzed.

Dural cysts in the cervical region. Report of three cases and review of the literature.

Dural spinal cysts are exceedingly rare lesions. The authors are aware of only seven cases reported in the literature. This report comprises three patients with dural cysts of the cervical spinal canal who presented with atypical neurological signs and symptoms, including a long history of dysesthesias and atrophic pareses in the proximal upper extremities.