Mortality in elderly patients following operative and nonoperative management of odontoid fractures.

Study Design: Retrospective matched cohort study.

Objective: To compare mortality in elderly patients with odontoid fractures after operative and nonoperative treatment. In addition, to evaluate potential factors that may increase the risk of mortality in the geriatric population after odontoid fracture.

Neuroforaminal chondrocyte metaplasia and clustering associated with recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 usage in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.

Background Context: Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) is commonly used to augment posterior and interbody spinal fusion techniques and has many reported side effects. Neuroforaminal heterotopic ossification (HO) is a known cause of postoperative leg pain, but the pathohistologic composition of this material is not well understood.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to report the histologic composition of a case of HO and lumbar radiculopathy after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with rhBMP-2.

Congenital stenosis and adjacent segment disease in the cervical spine.

Symptomatic adjacent segment disease (ASD) after anterior cervical fusion (ACF) is reported in 25% of patients at 10 years postoperatively. Debate continues as to whether this degeneration is due to the natural history of the disk or the changed biomechanics after ACF. This study explored whether congenital stenosis predisposes patients to an increased incidence of ASD after ACF.

Safety of thromboembolic chemoprophylaxis in spinal trauma patients requiring surgical stabilization.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Objective: To determine the incidence of thromboembolic events, bleeding complications such as epidural hematomas, and wound complications in patients with spinal trauma requiring surgical stabilization.

Summary Of Background Data: Literature addressing the safety and efficacy of chemoprophylactic agents in postoperative patients with spinal trauma is sparse.

Prevalence of venous thromboembolic events after elective major thoracolumbar degenerative spine surgery.

Study Design: A case-control study.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to establish the prevalence of venous thromboembolic disease in patients undergoing elective major thoracolumbar degenerative spine surgery and identify risk factors.

Summary Of Background Data: Venous thromboembolic events (VTE) are a serious complication of orthopedic surgery, but the prevalence of VTE after elective thoracolumbar degenerative spine surgery is not well known.

Converting Scoliosis Research Society-24 to Scoliosis Research Society-22r in a Surgical-Range, Medical/Interventional Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patient Cohort.

Study Design: Prospective questionnaire administration study.

Objectives: To assess the ability to translate total and domain scores from Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)-24 to SRS-22r in a surgical-range, medical/interventional adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patient population.

Summary Of Background Data: Conversion of SRS-24 to SRS-22r is demonstrated in an operative cohort of patients with AIS, but not in a medical/interventional patient population.

Dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery: a prospective study using the swallowing-quality of life questionnaire and analysis of patient comorbidities.

Study Design: Prospective study of 29 patients who underwent anterior cervical (AC) or posterior lumbar (PL) spinal surgery. A validated measure of dysphagia, the Swallowing-Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL) survey, was used to assess the degree of postoperative dysphagia.

Objective: To determine the degree of dysphagia preoperatively and postoperatively in patients undergoing AC surgery compared with a control group that underwent PL surgery.

Clinical indications for arterial imaging in cervical trauma.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical indications for acquiring arterial imaging in cervical trauma.

Summary Of Background Data: Cervical spine injuries are very common in high-energy trauma and are frequently seen at Level I trauma centers across the country.

Aberrant right subclavian artery encountered during debridement of T2 osteomyelitis and associated phlegmon.

Background Context: An aberrant right subclavian artery is a rare congenital abnormality of the aortic arch. The anomalous origin for the right subclavian artery arises as the last branch of the thoracic aorta. In the most common anomalous form, the right subclavian artery passes posterior to both the esophagus and trachea as it crosses midline to supply the right upper extremity.

Surgeons agree to disagree on surgical options for degenerative conditions of the cervical and lumbar spine.

Study Design: This is a survey study designed to evaluate agreement among spine surgeons regarding treatment options for six clinical scenarios involving degenerative conditions of the cervical and lumbar spine.

Objectives: The purpose was to evaluate whether or not surgeons agree on which cases require operative intervention and what type of surgery should be performed.

Summary Of Background Data: Agreement between spine surgeons on when to operate and what procedure to perform is a subject that has received increasing attention.

Laminoplasty versus laminectomy and fusion for multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is increasingly prevalent in the elderly and is the leading cause of spinal cord dysfunction in this population. Laminectomy with fusion and laminoplasty halt progression of myelopathy in these patients; however, both procedures have well-documented complications and associated morbidity and it is unclear which might be most advantageous.

Questions/purposes: We therefore compared the pain, function and alignment of patients who underwent laminectomy with fusion to those with laminoplasty for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

A novel classification system for traumatic central cord syndrome: the central cord injury scale (CCIS).

Study Design: Retrospective study of 37 patients with traumatic central cord syndrome.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to review a series of patients with central cord syndrome and to introduce a classification system that is predictive of functional outcome.

Summary Of Background Data: Central cord syndrome is the most common incomplete spinal cord injury, yet a predictive classification system does not exist.

Dysphonia, dysphagia, and esophageal injuries after anterior cervical spine surgery.

Anterior cervical spine surgery is commonly used by spine surgeons to treat numerous pathologic entities. The most common procedures involve decompression of the cervical spine through either diskectomy or corpectomy. Procedures that involve anterior dissection of the neck can lead to various complications, including dysphonia, dysphagia, and esophageal injuries.