Clinical and Radiological Results After Minimally Invasive Transpsoas Lateral Access Surgery for Degenerative Lumbar Stenosis.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Objective: The lateral transpsoas access is a retroperitoneal approach for the lumbar spine to perform the lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF), an intersomatic arthrodesis performed with a cage placed on the lateral borders of the epiphyseal ring. The procedure can be used to provide indirect decompression of the nervous structures through the discectomy and restoration of the disc height.

Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy Versus Microdiscectomy for the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation: Pain, Disability, and Complication Rate-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: The objective was to compare the traditional microdiscectomy with percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy for the treatment of disc herniations regarding pain, disability, and complications.

Methods: Randomized clinical trial with 47 patients with disc herniations treated with 2 different surgical techniques: traditional microdiscectomy or percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy. Forty-seven patients were divided into 2 groups and monitored for 12 months.

FOUR-LEVEL EN BLOC VERTEBRECTOMY: A NOVEL TECHNIQUE AND LITERATURE REVIEW.

Objective: To demonstrate a novel technique for multilevel en bloc post-vertebrectomy reconstruction.

Methods: A novel technique for en bloc multiple post-vertebrectomy reconstruction was used in a patient presenting for curative resection of Ewing's Sarcoma at the oncology center of a public university hospital.

Results: The procedure described was feasible for en bloc resection of the four vertebrae.

TRAUMATIC INJURIES OF THE CERVICAL SPINE: CURRENT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PANORAMA.

Objective: To collect data from patients with cervical fracture who were treated surgically in a tertiary health service, in order to better understand the current scenario of this kind of injury in our population.

Methods: This retrospective survey examined consecutive cases of patients with cervical spine trauma who received surgical treatment during 2013 and 2014. The data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis.

A Comparative Study of Sagittal Balance in Patients with Neuromuscular Scoliosis.

Objectives:: Spinopelvic alignment has been associated with improved quality of life in patients with vertebral deformities, and it helps to compensate for imbalances in gait. Although surgical treatment of scoliosis in patients with neuromuscular spinal deformities promotes correction of coronal scoliotic deformities, it remains poorly established whether this results in large changes in sagittal balance parameters in this specific population. The objective of this study is to compare these parameters before and after the current procedure under the hypothesis is that there is no significant modification.

Effects of estrogen on functional and neurological recovery after spinal cord injury: An experimental study with rats.

Objectives: To evaluate the functional and histological effects of estrogen as a neuroprotective agent after a standard experimentally induced spinal cord lesion.

Methods: In this experimental study, 20 male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: one group with rats undergoing spinal cord injury (SCI) at T10 and receiving estrogen therapy with 17-beta estradiol (4mg/kg) immediately following the injury and after the placement of skin sutures and a control group with rats only subjected to SCI. A moderate standard experimentally induced SCI was produced using a computerized device that dropped a weight on the rat's spine from a height of 12.

Controlled medial branch anesthetic block in the diagnosis of chronic lumbar facet joint pain: the value of a three-month follow-up.

Objectives: To verify the incidence of facetary and low back pain after a controlled medial branch anesthetic block in a three-month follow-up and to verify the correlation between the positive results and the demographic variables.

Methods: Patients with chronic lumbar pain underwent a sham blockade (with a saline injection) and then a controlled medial branch block. Their symptoms were evaluated before and after the sham injection and after the real controlled medial branch block; the symptoms were reevaluated after one day and one week, as well as after one, two and three months using the visual analog scale.

Therapeutic approaches for spinal cord injury.

This study reviews the literature concerning possible therapeutic approaches for spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury is a disabling and irreversible condition that has high economic and social costs. There are both primary and secondary mechanisms of damage to the spinal cord.

Feasibility of intralaminar, lateral mass, or pedicle axis vertebra screws in children under 10 years of age: a tomographic study.

Background: There are several techniques for screw insertion in upper cervical spine surgery, and the use of the 3.5-mm screw is usually the standard. However, there is no consensus regarding the feasibility of using these screws in the pediatric population.