Travel distance: Impact on stage of presentation and treatment choices in head and neck cancer.

Objectives: The objective was to examine the impact of travel distance on stage of presentation and treatment choices in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the rural setting.

Methods: 6029 cases diagnosed from 2002 to 2011 were obtained from the state cancer registry. Travel time was calculated to the nearest academic medical centers, otolaryngologist, and radiation treatment facilities.

A new paradigm for staging pedicle screw-based spinal procedures: rationale, feasibility, safety, and efficacy.

Object: The aims of this study were to present the rationale for and the evolution of a staged, two-procedure paradigm for spinal surgery requiring pedicle screw instrumentation, and to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of the technique.

Methods: The rationale for the new algorithm is presented for consideration in the form of unproven hypotheses subject to verification by subsequent studies. The first stage of the two-staged algorithm, performed in an interventional radiology (IR) setting, involves percutaneous placement of either headless pedicle screws or K-wire fragment placeholders of the trajectory for pedicle screws.