Cantilever TLIF with structural allograft and RhBMP2 for correction and maintenance of segmental sagittal lordosis: long-term clinical, radiographic, and functional outcome.

Study Design/setting: Prospective cohort study in a tertiary care spine center.

Objective: The effectiveness of the cantilever transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (C-TLIF) technique in creating and maintaining lordosis, avoiding nerve problems, and obtaining fusion was studied.

Summary Of Background Data: C-TLIF is a microscope-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion technique, emphasizing no dural retraction with placement of structural allograft and RhBMP2 anteriorly under the cortical apophyseal ring, followed by middle column cancellous autograft placed under compression with posterior pedicle spinal instrumentation.

Ender rod fixation of femoral shaft fractures in children.

Ender rod fixation for femoral shaft fractures in children was evaluated in a prospective study at two Level 1 trauma centers. Fifty-seven fractures in 52 patients were evaluated. Criteria for inclusion in the study included age younger than 14 years, femoral shaft fractures occurring in the middle 3/5, canal size greater than 7 mm, and parental consent.

Secundum-type atrial septal defects with failure to thrive in the first year of life.

This article summarizes the case histories of six infants who had isolated secundum-type atrial septal defects (ASDs) and presented with failure to thrive in the first year of life. Patients underwent operative closure of their ASD with the expectation that this would improve their feeding and growth pattern. Five of the six children demonstrated little or no improvement in symptoms following operation.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 enhances ventricular hypertrophy and function during the onset of experimental cardiac failure.

To determine whether additional hypertrophy would be beneficial or maladaptive in cardiac failure, the effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) were investigated in rats with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. In normal rats, 3 mg/kg per d of recombinant human IGF-1 for 14 d augmented LV wt (32%) and increased LV/body wt ratio (P < 0.01).