Thyroid Carcinoma Pattern Presentation According to Age.

 Patients with thyroid cancer in different age groups present with different prognosis.  The objective of this study is to analyze the clinicopathological pattern of thyroid carcinoma presentation according to age groups.  This is a retrospective study.

Evaluation of Aesculap Implant Systems activl Artificial Disc for the treatment of degenerative disc disease.

A primary cause of chronic low back pain and disability is lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD). Surgical treatments are available for DDD including fusion or lumbar total disc replacement (TDR). Lumbar TDR is performed as a motion-preserving alternative to lumbar fusion.

Change in Off-Label Use of Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Spine Surgery and Associations with Adverse Outcome.

 Retrospective cohort study.  The U.S.

Atlantoaxial Fusion: Sixteen Years of Epidemiology, Indications, and Complications in New York State.

Study Design: A retrospective state database analysis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and complications of as well as indications for primary isolated atlantoaxial fusion.

Summary Of Background Data: Atlantoaxial fusion involves unique indications, techniques, and complications.

Demographic, Clinical, and Operative Factors Affecting Long-Term Revision Rates After Cervical Spine Arthrodesis.

Background: Limited data exist on long-term revision rates following cervical spine arthrodeses. The purposes of this study were to define reoperation rates after primary cervical arthrodeses and to identify risk factors for revisions.

Methods: New York State's all-payer health-care database was queried to identify all primary subaxial cervical arthrodeses occurring in the 16 years from 1997 through 2012.

Toxicity of single-wall carbon nanotubes functionalized with polyethylene glycol in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.

Single-wall carbon nanotubes functionalized with polyethylene glycol (SWCNT-PEG) are promising materials for biomedical applications such as diagnostic devices and controlled drug-release systems. However, several questions about their toxicological profile remain unanswered. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the action of SWCNT-PEG in Danio rerio zebrafish embryos at the molecular, physiological and morphological levels.

Fulfillment of patients' expectations of lumbar and cervical spine surgery.

Background Context: Fulfillment of expectations is an important outcome of spine surgery.

Purpose: The study aimed to compare fulfillment of expectations after surgery with preoperatively stated expectations.

Study Design: This is a prospective cohort study.

Microbiologic profile of infections in presumed aseptic revision spine surgery.

Purpose: Intra-operative cultures may be obtained in revision spine surgery despite the absence of pre-operative clinical markers of infection. The microbiologic profile of culture positive cases in which there is no clear evidence of infection preoperatively has not been described. The aim of this investigation is to report on the microbiologic profile of unexpected culture positive revision spine surgery cases.

Improvement in Pain After Lumbar Spine Surgery: The Role of Preoperative Expectations of Pain Relief.

Objectives: Improvement in pain is a major expectation of patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery.

Materials And Methods: Among 422 patients, the goal of this prospective study was to measure 2-year postoperative pain and to determine whether this outcome varied according to patient and clinical characteristics, including amount of pain relief expected preoperatively. Before surgery patients completed valid questionnaires that addressed clinical characteristics and expectations for pain improvement.

A Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of the Implementation of Surgical Safety Checklists in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Importance: The appropriately coached implementation of surgical safety checklists (SSCs) reduces the incidence of perioperative complications and 30-day mortality of patients undergoing surgery. The association of the introduction of SSCs with 90-day mortality remains unclear.

Objective: To assess the association between the implementation of SSCs and all-cause 90- and 30-day mortality rates.

Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion.

The lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) is a relatively new technique that allows the surgeon to access the intervertebral space from a direct lateral approach either anterior to or through the psoas muscle. This approach provides an alternative to anterior lumbar interbody fusion with instrumentation, posterior lumbar interbody fusion, and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for anterior column support. LLIF is minimally invasive, safe, better structural support from the apophyseal ring, potential for coronal plane deformity correction, and indirect decompression, which have has made this technique popular.

Proportion of Expectations Fulfilled: A New Method to Report Patient-centered Outcomes of Spine Surgery.

Study Design: Prospective lumbar and cervical surgery cohorts.

Objective: Compare fulfillment of expectations with traditional global outcomes and provide evidence for its validity.

Summary Of Background Data: New lumbar and cervical spine surgery Expectations Surveys can be used to measure fulfillment of expectations and their performance should be compared with existing outcomes.

Lumbar Total Disc Replacement for Discogenic Low Back Pain: Two-year Outcomes of the activL Multicenter Randomized Controlled IDE Clinical Trial.

Study Design: A prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled, investigational device exemption (IDE) noninferiority trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative safety and effectiveness of lumbar total disc replacement (TDR) in the treatment of patients with symptomatic degenerative disc disease (DDD) who are unresponsive to nonsurgical therapy.

Summary Of Background Data: Lumbar TDR has been used to alleviate discogenic pain and dysfunction while preserving segmental range of motion and restoring stability.

Postoperative Spine Infections.

Postoperative spinal wound infection is a potentially devastating complication after operative spinal procedures. Despite the utilization of perioperative prophylactic antibiotics in recent years and improvements in surgical technique and postoperative care, wound infection continues to compromise patients' outcome after spinal surgery. In the modern era of pending health care reform with increasing financial constraints, the financial burden of post-operative spinal infections also deserves consideration.

Lumbar Spine Surgery in Patients with Parkinson Disease.

Background: Parkinson disease is the second most common neurodegenerative condition. The literature on patients with Parkinson disease and spine surgery is limited, but increased complications have been reported.

Methods: All patients with Parkinson disease undergoing lumbar spine surgery between 2002 and 2012 were identified.

A Comparative Study of Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion and Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion in Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis.

Study Design: Level 4 retrospective review.

Purpose: To compare the radiographic and clinical outcomes between posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) with posterior segmental spinal instrumentation (SSI) for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Overview Of Literature: Both PLIF and LLIF have been performed for degenerative spondylolisthesis with good results, but no study has directly compared these two techniques so far.

Analysis of pattern of occurrence of thyroid carcinoma between 2001 and 2010.

Introduction: An ongoing discussion is found in medical literature about the reasons for changes in thyroid carcinoma incidence patterns over the last decades.

Objective: To analyze the clinical and pathological characteristics of thyroid carcinoma cases over a decade.

Methods: Cross-sectional study over an historical cohort.

The use of local vancomycin powder in degenerative spine surgery.

Purpose: Wound infection after spine surgery is a debilitating complication. Local placement of vancomycin powder into the surgical wounds prior to closing of the fascia has been introduced as a method to reduce deep infection rates.

Methods: The infection rates of all the patients who were treated with intra-operative local vancomycin between June 2012 and June 2013 were compared to all cases that were not treated with vancomycin between January 2009 and December 2010.

Blood Transfusions May Have Limited Effect on Muscle Oxygenation After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: Traditionally, blood transfusions in the perioperative setting are used to maintain adequate delivery of nutrients and oxygen to organs. However, the effect of blood administration on tissue oxygenation in the perioperative setting remains poorly understood.

Questions/purposes: The aim of this study was to determine changes in muscle tissue oxygenation saturation (SmO2) in response to perioperative blood transfusions.

The value of intraoperative Gram stain in revision spine surgery.

Background Context: Intraoperative cultures and Gram stains are often obtained in cases of revision spine surgery even when clinical signs of infection are not present. The clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of this behavior remain unproven.

Purpose: The aim was to evaluate the clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of routine intraoperative Gram stains in revision spine surgery.

Considerations for prophylactic surgery in asymptomatic severe cervical stenosis: review article.

Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a devastating pathology that can severely impair quality of life. The symptoms in CSM progress slowly and often do not manifest until they become severe and potentially irreversible. There is a consensus that surgical intervention is warranted in symptomatic patients.

Laryngeal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor seldom involves the larynx, as only about 50 to 60 cases have been described in the literature. Even though these tumors are often not aggressive, they have the potential for invasion and local recurrence. We describe the case of a 27-year-old man who was admitted to an emergency department with signs of upper airway obstruction secondary to an obstructive mass.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma: does the association with Hashimoto's thyroiditis affect the clinicopathological characteristics of the disease?

Introduction: Papillary carcinoma is the most common malignant thyroid neoplasm. The effect of the concurrent presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and papillary thyroid carcinoma remains controversial.

Objective: To evaluate the association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and clinicopathological parameters in thyroid papillary carcinoma cases, based on an historical institutional cohort analysis.

Physical and psychological comorbidity independently associated with spine-related disability.

Study Design: Cross sectional analysis of patient-reported spine-related disability and comorbidity.

Objective: To determine if nonorthopedic physical and psychological comorbidity are independently associated with self-reported spine-related disability in patients scheduled for spine surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: The association between psychological comorbidity and spine-related disability is well known; less is known about the contribution of nonorthopedic physical comorbidity to patients' ratings of spine-related disability.