Which is better Stainless Steel or Titanium alloy?

Aim: To investigate immunologic reactions after implantation of stainless steel (SS) alloy and titanium (Ti) alloy in a rat model. Macrophage and cytokine responses have been reported after the in vivo and in vitro application of different biomaterials.

Material And Methods: Wistar albino rats after an exploration of the thoracolumbar paravertebral muscle tissue of the subjects, group I underwent a sham surgery, and groups II and III were implanted Ti alloy and SS alloy rods respectively.

Russell-Silver syndrome associated with low conus medullaris.

Russell-Silver syndrome is a rare heterogeneous disorder mainly characterized by intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation, craniofacial disproportion, clinodactyly, variation in urogenital development, and skeletal asymmetry. It is rare to come across tethered cord-associated Russell-Silver syndrome. We report a rare case of Russell-Silver syndrome associated with low conus medullaris in a 2-year-old patient with demonstrative phenotype.

Unilateral dynamic stabilization for unilateral lumbar spinal pathologies; a new surgical concept.

Aim: Minimally invasive surgical techniques for spine surgery have gained popularity over the last decade. In this study, the authors describe a unilateral dynamic stabilization for unilateral spinal pathologies.

Material And Methods: A total of 7 patients with an average age of 46.

Spontaneous pyogenic spinal epidural abscess.

Aim: Spontaneous pyogenic spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare condition but might be devastating and fatal. Traditional treatment is surgical decompression and antibiotics. A retrospective study was designed to assess the eff ect of clinical findings and treatment methods on the outcome.

Dynamic lumbar pedicle screw-rod stabilization: two-year follow-up and comparison with fusion.

Background: A lumbar pedicular dynamic stabilization system (LPDSS) is an alternative to fusion for treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD). In this study, clinical and radiological results of one LPDSS (Saphinaz, Medikon AS, Turkey) were compared with results of rigid fixation after two-year follow-up.

Methods: All patients had anteroposterior and lateral standing x-rays of the lumbar spine preoperatively and at 3 months, 12 months and 24 months after surgery.

Discal cysts of the lumbar spine: report of five cases and review of the literature.

Discal cysts are rare causes of low back pain and radiculopathy. Only few reports in the literature describe these pathologies. In this article, the authors report five cases (3 males and 2 females) of lumbar discal cysts treated surgically by microdiscectomy.

Dynamic lumbar pedicle screw-rod stabilization: in vitro biomechanical comparison with standard rigid pedicle screw-rod stabilization.

Object: It is unclear how the biomechanics of dynamic posterior lumbar stabilization systems and traditional rigid pedicle screw-rod systems differ. This study examined the biomechanical response of a hinged-dynamic pedicle screw compared with a standard rigid screw used in a 1-level pedicle screw-rod construct.

Methods: Unembalmed human cadaveric L3-S1 segments were tested intact, after L4-5 discectomy, after rigid pedicle screw-rod fixation, and after dynamic pedicle screw-rod fixation.

The results of beta-tricalcium phosphate coated hydroxyapatite (beta-TCP/HA) grafts for interbody fusion after anterior cervical discectomy.

Study Design: The efficacy of tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite (beta-TCP/HA) grafts was studied after anterior cervical discectomy (ACD).

Objective: This study presents our observations about the efficacy of beta-TCP/HA grafts after ACD.

Summary Of Background Data: Especially in the last 2 decades, fusion materials such as autograft and allograft, as well as different kind of cages were used to maintain fusion after ACD.

A new transodontoid fixation technique for delayed type II odontoid fracture: technical note.

Background: A different transodontoid screw fixation technique was studied in delayed type II odontoid fractures. This study presents observations on a different transodontoid fixation technique to remove and decrease the amount of sclerotic layers to accelerate the fusion process after the operation.

Methods: Ten cases of chronic type II odontoid fractures were operated on via transodontoid screw fixation between 2000 and 2007 which were admitted 6 weeks or later after the trauma.

Excision of an asymptomatic cervical intradural neurenteric cyst through the anterior approach: a study of two cases and a review of the literature.

Background: Spinal neurenteric cysts are very rare lesions, especially after the second decade of life. They account for 0.3% to 0.

Biomechanical comparison of instrumented and uninstrumented multilevel cervical discectomy versus corpectomy.

Study Design: In vitro flexibility test comparing biomechanics of cervical corpectomy versus discectomy with and without instrumentation.

Objectives: To evaluate whether the additional effort required to perform multilevel discectomies instead of corpectomies is worthwhile biomechanically.

Summary Of Background Data: Both cervical corpectomy and discectomy have been shown to be effective clinically.

Preserving the ligamentum flavum in lumbar discectomy: a new technique that prevents scar tissue formation in the first 6 months postsurgery.

Objective: Postoperative fibrosis is one of the most important causes of failed back surgery syndrome after lumbar disc surgery. Numerous natural and synthetic materials have been investigated as means to prevent or reduce postoperative scarring after these operations. Preservation of the ligamentum flavum for this purpose has not been studied in depth.

Finite element method based stress analysis of zone I and zone II sacral fractures.

Background: Sacral bone fractures after direct traumas such as gunshot wounds and blunt sacral traumas are rarely, whereas those occurring after indirect traumas with vertical shear mechanisms ( car accidents or falls) are more frequently seen.

Methods: A cadaver sacrum was modelled 3-dimensionally using finite element software. Left sacroiliac joint was modeled to simulate a 75- kg man falling on one leg from a height of 5 meters.

Biomechanics of stabilization after cervicothoracic compression-flexion injury.

Study Design: Biomechanical laboratory research.

Objective: To determine whether anterior, posterior, or combined instrumentation provides the best stability for treating a cervicothoracic compression-flexion injury.

Summary Of Background Data: As the junction between the mobile cervical spine and rigid thoracic spine, the cervicothoracic junction poses unique challenges to the success of any fixation system spanning this region.

Biomechanical analysis of rigid stabilization techniques for three-column injury in the lower cervical spine.

Study Design: Comparison of nondestructive multidirectional flexibility in groups of specimens receiving two different posterior instrumentation constructs with or without anterior plating.

Objective: To compare stability after a three-column injury stabilized posteriorly by lateral mass screws-rods at C5-C6 and pedicle screws-rods at C7 ("LLP") or by pedicle screws-rods at C5-C6-C7 ("PPP"), and to compare posterior, anterior, and combined anterior-posterior fixation.

Summary Of Background Data: Pedicle screws resist pullout better than lateral mass screws, but little research has compared the stability of pedicle screws to that of lateral mass screws used within constructs.

Biomechanical comparison of anterolateral plate, lateral plate, and pedicle screws-rods for enhancing anterolateral lumbar interbody cage stabilization.

Study Design: A repeated measures in vitro flexibility experiment was performed in calf spines.

Objectives: To determine the biomechanical differences among three techniques for augmenting stability of an anterolateral lumbar threaded interbody cage.

Background: Stand-alone interbody cages are known to inadequately stabilize the spine.

Transvertebral interbody cage and pedicle screw fixation for high-grade spondylolisthesis. Case report.

Surgical stabilization of high-grade lumbosacral spondylolisthesis is clinically challenging, and the success of deformity reduction and fusion varies. The authors describe a patient with Grade III spondylolisthesis at L5-S1. Partial reduction was achieved and fusion involved pedicle screw fixation and a posterior transvertebral interbody cage.

Radiofrequency lesioning using two different time modalities for the treatment of lumbar discogenic pain: a randomized trial.

Study Design: A prospective randomized trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous intradiscal radiofrequency thermocoagulation by modifying the duration of heating, using two different time methods, for relieving pain and improving functional disability.

Summary Of Background Data: Lumbar discogenic pain is the major problem in lumbar degenerative disc disease that percutaneous intradiscal radiofrequency thermocoagulation has been suggested for as a nonsurgical invasive treatment technique for lumbar discogenic pain.