Assessment of stress patterns on a spinal motion segment in healthy versus osteoporotic bony models with or without disc degeneration: a finite element analysis.

Background Context: With an increasing prevalence of low back pain, physicians strive to optimize the treatment of patients with degenerated motion segments. There exists a consensus in literature that osteoporotic patients exhibit nonphysiologic loading patterns, while degenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs) are also believed to alter spine biomechanics.

Purpose: To evaluate alterations occurring in lumbosacral spine biomechanics of an osteoporotic model, with or without IVD degeneration, when compared with a healthy spine segment.

The effect of kyphoplasty parameters on the dynamic load transfer within the lumbar spine considering the response of a bio-realistic spine segment.

Background: With an increasing prevalence of osteoporosis, physicians have to optimize treatment of relevant vertebral compression fractures, which have significant impact on the quality of life in the elder population. Retrospective clinical studies suggest that kyphoplasty, despite being a procedure with promising potential, may be related to an increased fracture risk of the adjacent untreated vertebrae.

Methods: A bio-realistic model of a lumbar spine is introduced to determine the morbidity of cemented augmentation.

Fracture risk in the femoral hip region: A finite element analysis supported experimental approach.

The decrease of bone mineral density (BMD) is a multifactorial bone pathology, commonly referred to as osteoporosis. The subsequent decline of the bone's micro-structural characteristics renders the human skeletal system, and especially the hip, susceptible to fragility fractures. This study represents a systematic attempt to correlate BMD spectrums to the mechanical strength characteristics of the femoral neck and determine a fracture risk indicator based on non-invasive imaging techniques.

A finite element model technique to determine the mechanical response of a lumbar spine segment under complex loads.

This study presents a CT-based finite element model of the lumbar spine taking into account all function-related boundary conditions, such as anisotropy of mechanical properties, ligaments, contact elements, mesh size, etc. Through advanced mesh generation and employment of compound elements, the developed model is capable of assessing the mechanical response of the examined spine segment for complex loading conditions, thus providing valuable insight on stress development within the model and allowing the prediction of critical loading scenarios. The model was validated through a comparison of the calculated force-induced inclination/deformation and a correlation of these data to experimental values.

Percutaneous anterolateral balloon kyphoplasty for metastatic lytic lesions of the cervical spine.

The purpose of our report is to describe a new application of kyphoplasty, the percutaneous anterolateral balloon kyphoplasty that we performed in two cases of metastatic osteolytic lesions in cervical spine. The first patient, aged 48 years, with primary malignancy in lungs had two metastatic lesions in C2 and C6 vertebrae. Patient's complaints were about pain and restriction of movements (due to the pain) in the cervical spine.

Thoracic cord compression caused by disk herniation in Scheuermann's disease: a case report and review of the literature.

We present the case of a 14-year-old male with Scheuermann's disease and significant neurological deficit due to thoracic disk herniation at the apex of kyphosis. He was treated with an anterior decompression, anterior and posterior fusion in the same setting using plate, cage and a segmental instrumentation system. The patient had an excellent outcome with complete neurological recovery.