Neurologic deficit following percutaneous vertebral stabilization.

Study Design: A retrospective review.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to document a series of cases of neurologic deficit following percutaneous vertebral stabilization, to identify patterns of neurologic injury, and to describe potential methods for avoiding these injuries.

Summary Of Background Data: Percutaneous vertebral stabilization procedures, including vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, have become a widely used for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, primary and metastatic vertebral tumors, and traumatic burst fractures.

Design rationale and biomechanics of Maverick Total Disc arthroplasty with early clinical results.

This paper reviews the design criteria, biomechanical and biological (wear and safety) testing of this chrome cobalt metal-on-metal, ball and socket design prosthesis. The surgical technique and early clinical results of the initial implantations are also reviewed. Initial results of 7 Maverick implantations showed all 7 patients attaining a 15 point Oswestry improvement within 3 months after implantation.

Minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of intervertebral disk herniation.

Hemilaminectomy with diskectomy, the original surgical option to address intervertebral disk herniation, was superseded by open microdiskectomy, a less invasive technique recognized as the surgical benchmark with which minimally invasive spine surgery techniques have been compared as they have been developed. These minimally invasive surgical techniques for patients with herniated nucleus pulposus and radiculopathy include laser disk decompression, arthroscopic microdiskectomy, laparoscopic techniques, foraminal endoscopy, and microendoscopic diskectomy. Each has its own complications and requires a long learning curve to develop familiarity with the technique.