Publications by authors named "Franziska C S Altorfer"

Article Synopsis
  • Robotic-assisted spine surgery enhances the precision and safety of procedures like pedicle screw placement, minimizing blood loss and reducing hospital stays while alleviating postoperative pain.
  • Recent advancements allow robotic systems to perform not only screw insertion but also critical tasks like surgical decompression and bone preparation, transitioning from experimental models to actual human applications.
  • The Mazor X Stealth Edition Spine Robotic System facilitates these procedures by combining advanced software for planning and real-time imaging, leading to more efficient and accurate minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MI-TLIF).
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Despite growing numbers of scientific publications on the optimal antibiotic treatment for diabetic foot infections, the data on the adult population with non-diabetic (postsurgical) foot infections is limited. Therefore, one of the largest single-center databases at the Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, was established between January 2014 and August 2022. Using a case-control study design, we retrospectively investigated failures of combined surgical and antibiotic therapy for surgical site foot infections (SSIs).

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Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To identify imaging predictors on pre- and perioperative imaging that are associated with a future revision surgery for adjacent segment disease (ASD) following lumbar fusion.

Methods: Patients undergoing open posterior lumbar fusion between 2014-2022 were followed-up for >2-year.

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Background Context: Preoperative imaging for lumbar spine surgery often includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for soft tissues and computer tomography (CT) for bony detail. While CT scans expose patients to ionizing radiation, whereas MRI scans do not. Emerging MRI techniques allow CT-like 3-dimensional (3D) visualization of bony structures, potentially removing the need for ionizing radiation from CT scans.

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Article Synopsis
  • Upper cervical spine instrumentation is risky due to the anatomical complexities, including the proximity of critical structures like vertebral arteries and nerve roots, making precise surgery difficult.
  • Recent advancements in 3D imaging and computer-assisted navigation (CAN) are improving the accuracy of screw placement and reducing surgical risks, though these techniques have been less commonly applied in cervical spine surgeries compared to lumbar and thoracic procedures.
  • This manuscript provides a detailed technique using CAN for upper cervical instrumentation, specifically for various screw placements in patients with different cervical pathologies, demonstrating the importance of tailored approaches based on individual anatomical variations.
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Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of intralesional gross-total resection (GTR) followed by high-energy particle therapy with en bloc and intralesional resections.

Methods: A retrospective study of patients diagnosed with primary osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) of the spine between 2009 and 2020 was conducted. Demographic information, including age, affected site, tumor volume, and Weinstein-Boriani-Biagini stage, was collected.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on developing a minimally invasive technique for lumbar decompression using robotic-assisted navigation, with an emphasis on advanced imaging for planning and execution.
  • The procedure involved mapping out bone removal using CT scans and a specialized robotic drill, completed successfully in a cadaver and then in a 72-year-old patient with lumbar spinal stenosis.
  • Postoperative imaging confirmed effective decompression with minimal impact on surrounding structures, leading to significant symptom improvement and a quick recovery time for the patient.
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Background Context: Concurrent degeneration of the lumbar spine, hip, and knee can cause significant disability and lower quality of life. Osteoarthritis in the lower extremities can lead to movement limitations, possibly requiring total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA). These procedures often impact spinal posture, causing alterations in spinopelvic alignment and lumbar spine degeneration.

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Study Design: This was a single-center prospective clinical and radiographic analysis of pedicle screw instrumentation with Robotic-assisted navigation (RAN) and augmented reality (AR).

Objective: This study aimed to compare the accuracy of lumbosacral pedicle screw placement with RAN versus AR.

Summary Of Background Data: RAN and AR have demonstrated superior accuracy in lumbar pedicle screw placement compared to conventional free-hand techniques.

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Surgical treatment of aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) can be challenging, especially in the spine. Non-surgical treatments such as with denosumab have shown promising results in different osteolytic pathologies. This retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the long-term clinical and radiologic response of patients with ABCs of the mobile spine treated with denosumab and propose an updated treatment algorithm.

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Article Synopsis
  • Anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion have been the standard treatment for cervical radiculopathy/myelopathy, but there are rising concerns about adjacent segment issues, leading to an increase in cervical disk arthroplasty (CDA) due to its ability to preserve motion.
  • Recent CDA designs focus on mimicking the natural cervical disk's movement and compression by tweaking stability constraints and material choices, which can promote either unrestricted or semi-restricted motion.
  • While clinical studies show promising short-term benefits and cost savings for CDA, long-term effects and potential complications (like ossification and migration) are still under investigation, requiring careful patient selection and further research on multi-level procedures.
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Background: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the surgical treatment of cervical degenerative disease often includes an intervertebral cage, which restores disc height and lordosis while promoting fusion . Cage materials include titanium (TTN) or polyetheretherketone (PEEK). Controversy in material selection stems from higher fusion rates with TNN, despite a higher subsidence rate, while PEEK cages demonstrate superior preservation of interspace height.

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Background: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is known to elicit adverse biomechanical effects on immediately adjacent segments; however, its impact on the kinematics of the remaining nonadjacent cervical levels has not been understood. This study aimed to explore the biomechanical impact of ACDF on kinematics beyond the immediate fusion site. We hypothesized that compensatory motion following single-level ACDF is not predictably distributed to adjacent segments due to compensation from noncontiguous levels.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study conducted a retrospective analysis of revisions for cervical disk arthroplasty (CDA) using the MAUDE database, aiming to understand the complications associated with different CDA designs.
  • A total of 678 revisions were identified, with the most common complications being migration, neck pain, and heterotopic ossification, varying by specific CDA type.
  • The results indicate significant variability in complications among different CDA devices, which can inform decision-making in surgeries involving cervical disk replacements.
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Background: Radicular pain after lumbar decompression surgery can result from epidural hematoma/seroma, recurrent disc herniation, incomplete decompression, or other rare complications. A less recognized complication is postoperative nerve root herniation, resulting from an initially unrecognized intraoperative or, more commonly, a spontaneous postoperative durotomy. Rarely, this nerve root herniation can become entrapped within local structures, including the facet joint.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the use of preoperative MRI techniques (ZTE and SPGR) to aid in robotic-assisted spine surgery for accurately placing lumbar pedicle screws.
  • The research involved using MRI scans on a cadaver and then navigating a surgical robot to position the screws, later verified by a CT scan.
  • Results showed that all screws were placed accurately (graded A), with minimal deviation of around 0.25 mm, indicating a promising direction for reducing radiation exposure in spine surgeries.
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Article Synopsis
  • * Accurate diagnosis of these pain types relies on imaging techniques that can distinguish between the two and rule out other conditions, with advancements in MRI enhancing the detection capabilities.
  • * The review discusses the mechanisms behind vertebrogenic and discogenic pain and how improved imaging approaches can assist in tailoring personalized treatment plans for affected patients.
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The aim of this study was to determine tissue-specific blood perfusion impairment of the cervical cord above the compression site in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging. A quantitative MRI protocol, including structural and IVIM imaging, was conducted in healthy controls and patients. In patients, T2-weighted scans were acquired to quantify intramedullary signal changes, the maximal canal compromise, and the maximal cord compression.

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Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used for evaluation of ankle cartilage repair, yet its association with clinical outcome is controversial. This study analyzes the correlation between MRI and clinical outcome after cartilage repair of the talus including bone marrow stimulation, cell-based techniques, as well as restoration with allo- or autografting.

Methods: A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Collaboration.

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Background Context: Early postoperative MR images are frequently necessary after spine surgery. The appearance of commonly used adjunct hemostatic agents and dural sealants in MR images has not been systematically evaluated.

Purpose: The purpose of this experimental study was to systematically analyze and describe the characteristics of the most commonly applied hemostatic agents and dural sealants in spine surgery on early postoperative MR images.

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