PEEK Cages versus Titanium-Coated PEEK Cages in Single-Level Anterior Cervical Fusion: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Background:  The implantation of a spacer is a common practice after anterior diskectomy in cervical spine. Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) cages have replaced titanium implants due to their better radiologic visibility and appearance in postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. However, PEEK showed apparently higher nonunion rates than titanium cages.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Management of Spinal Disorders - Results of a National Survey.

Introduction: Far-reaching political steps to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have been undertaken in recent weeks. These also impact on surgical specialties not directly involved in the management of patients infected with the coronavirus. The Spine Section, the interdisciplinary professional political arm of the German Spine Society (DWG), the Professional Association for Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery (BVOU), and the Federal Association of German Neurosurgeons (BDNC) conducted a survey on the collateral effects of the pandemic on spine surgery in Germany.

Optimized Screw Trajectory for Lumbar Cortical Bone Trajectory Pedicle Screws Based on Clinical Outcome: Evidence Favoring the Buttress Effect Theory.

Background:  Cortical bone trajectory (CBT) is a relatively new technique for pedicle screw insertion in the field of spine surgery. Previous studies have demonstrated the significantly better pullout and toggle characteristics the new method offers, and it appears to have certain advantages over the widely used traditional trajectory. The mechanism of the pullout and toggle characteristics still remains unknown.

Burden of disease of reoperations in instrumental spinal surgeries in Germany.

Purpose: To estimate the incidence of instrumental spinal surgeries (ISS) and consecutive reoperations and to calculate the related resource utilization and costs.

Methods: ISS and subsequent reoperations were identified retrospectively using surgery codes in claims data. The study period included January 01, 2009 to December 31, 2011.

Lateral mass lesions of the C1 vertebra: a modified "far lateral" approach.

Purpose: The surgical removal of lateral mass lesions is demanding due to their close anatomical relationship with the vertebral artery, upper spinal cord as well as overlying muscular structures. Usually a dorsal approach will be performed to reach the lateral mass. The disadvantage of this approach is the extensive mobilization of the neck muscles required to allow exposure of the lateral mass, which can be accompanied by severe muscular atrophy due to the damage of the local innervation.

Intra-vital ultrasonographic monitoring of intra-cerebral tumor growth in a rat glioma model: technical note.

The assessment of therapeutic effects in rodent glioma models by comparison of post mortem tumor sizes has to deal with differing individual growth kinetics and the possibility of spontaneous tumor regression. This technical note describes the intravital ultrasonographical monitoring of cerebral tumor growth in individual animals. In the experiments C6 lacZ glioma cells were injected intracerebrally into female Wistar rats.

PMMA vertebroplasty in patients with malignant vertebral destruction of the thoracic and lumbar spine.

Object: Patients with osteolytic metastases frequently suffer from serious local and radicular pain. Pathophysiologically, local pain arises from skeletal instability, whereas radicular pain originates from compression of nerve roots by local tumor growth. Causal treatment of osteolytic metastases in disseminated malignant disease is very difficult.

The tissue level of dexamethasone in human brain tumors is about 1000 times lower than the cytotoxic concentration in cell culture.

In glioblastoma patients dexamethasone is routinely administered as an antiedematous drug. In contrast to its empirically proven effect, the biochemical way of action remains poorly understood. In order to assess whether a direct cytotoxic effect is present in vivo we compared dexamethasone levels in brain tumor specimens with its cytotoxic concentrations in cell culture.