Postoperative Spine Dressing Changes Are Unnecessary.

Introduction: There is minimal literature regarding when dressing changes should be performed. We present the dressing change protocol adopted by our institution. The purpose of this study was to provide an update of our experience with this dressing change protocol over a 15-year period.

Does chronic kidney disease affect the mortality rate in patients undergoing spine surgery?

The number of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and their life expectancy has been increasing. With time number of patients undergoing spine surgery has also been on a rise. This study we did a retrospective review of registry data to investigate the mortality rate of chronic kidney disease patients following spine surgery using a large, multi-center spine registry.

Reducing surgical site infection in spinal surgery with betadine irrigation and intrawound vancomycin powder.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a surgical site infection (SSI) prevention protocol instituted in the Orthopaedic Spine Department at our institution.

Summary Of Background Data: SSI is an undesired complication of orthopedic spine surgical procedures.

Laminoplasty techniques for the treatment of multilevel cervical stenosis.

Laminoplasty is one surgical option for cervical spondylotic myelopathy. It was developed to avoid the significant risk of complications associated with alternative surgical options such as anterior decompression and fusion and laminectomy with or without posterior fusion. Various laminoplasty techniques have been described.

Short-segment fixation of lumbar burst fractures using pedicle fixation at the level of the fracture.

Study Design: Cadaveric biomechanical study and retrospective chart review.

Objective: Biomechanical comparison of segmental versus nonsegmental fixation of lumbar burst fractures and clinical analysis of short-term radiographic outcomes.

Summary Of Background Data: Traditional short nonsegmental posterior fixation of thoracolumbar burst fractures suffers from high rates of failure.

Temporal effects of a COX-2-selective NSAID on bone ingrowth.

The effects of a short course of a COX-2 inhibitor on bone healing when the drug is discontinued are unknown. We examined the effects of rofecoxib on bone ingrowth over a 6-week period using a well-defined animal model. The Bone Harvest Chamber was implanted bilaterally in mature rabbits.