Publications by authors named "Chukwuebuka C Achebe"

Article Synopsis
  • Poor muscle health, indicated by the normalized total psoas area (NTPA), is linked to negative recovery outcomes in spinal deformity surgery, which is a gap in current research.
  • The study aims to explore how NTPA correlates with patient mobility and the incidence of adverse events (AEs) post-surgery by analyzing data from 279 patients over a nine-year period.
  • Results include assessing postoperative ambulation and complications like urinary issues and delayed healing, using data from MRI to establish cut-off values for NTPA related to patient recovery.
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Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To determine the relationship between preoperative physical therapy (PT) and postoperative mobility, adverse events (AEs), and length of stay (LOS) among patients with low normalized total psoas area (NTPA) undergoing ASD surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Sarcopenia as defined by low NTPA has been shown to predict poor perioperative outcomes following adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery.

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Porous tissue-engineered 3D-printed scaffolds are a compelling alternative to autografts for the treatment of large periorbital bone defects. Matching the defect-specific geometry has long been considered an optimal strategy to restore pre-injury anatomy. However, studies in large animal models have revealed that biomaterial-induced bone formation largely occurs around the scaffold periphery.

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Critical-sized midfacial bone defects present a unique clinical challenge due to their complex three-dimensional shapes and intimate associations with sensory organs. To address this challenge, a point-of-care treatment strategy for functional, long-term regeneration of 2 cm full-thickness segmental defects in the zygomatic arches of Yucatan minipigs is evaluated. A digital workflow is used to 3D-print anatomically precise, porous, biodegradable scaffolds from clinical-grade poly-ε-caprolactone and decellularized bone composites.

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Purpose: Vertebral compression fracture is a common complication of spinal stereotactic body radiation therapy. Development of an in vivo model is crucial to fully understand how focal radiation treatment affects vertebral integrity and biology at various dose fractionation regimens. We present a clinically relevant animal model to analyze the effects of localized, high-dose radiation on vertebral microstructure and mechanical integrity.

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Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are a promising cell source for regenerating critical-sized craniofacial bone defects, but their clinical use is limited due to the supraphysiological levels of bone morphogenetic protein-2 required to induce bone formation in large grafts. It has been recently reported that platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF) directly enhances the osteogenesis of ASCs when applied at physiological concentrations. In this study, a biomimetic delivery system that tethers PDGF to decellularized bone matrix (DCB) is developed to enhance osteogenic signaling in bone grafts by colocalizing PDGF-extracellular matrix cues.

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