Percutaneous laser disc decompression for thoracic disc disease: report of 10 cases.

Background: Discogenic pain or herniation causing neural impingement of the thoracic vertebrae is less common than that in the cervical or lumbar regions. Treatment of thoracic discogenic pain usually involves conservative measures. If this fails, conventional fusion or discectomy can be considered, but these procedures carry significant risk.

Endoscopic facet debridement for the treatment of facet arthritic pain--a novel new technique.

Study Design: Retrospective, observational, open label.

Objective: We investigated the efficacy of facet debridement for the treatment of facet joint pain.

Summary Of Background Data: Facet joint disease, often due to degenerative arthritis, is common cause of chronic back pain.

Endoscopic thoracic laminoforaminoplasty for the treatment of thoracic radiculopathy: report of 12 cases.

Background: Spinal stenosis of the thoracic spine is less common than that of the cervical and lumbar regions. Due to the close proximity to thoracic and abdominal organs, surgical operations can be difficult and carry a greater risk of complications. The most efficacious intervention for thoracic stenosis, whether central or foraminal, refractory to conservative management is uncertain.

Endoscopic laminoforaminoplasty success rates for treatment of foraminal spinal stenosis: report on sixty-four cases.

Background: Foraminal stenosis is an important cause of radicular and generalized back pain. In patients who do not respond to conservative interventions, endoscopic spinal surgery provides similar results to open surgical approaches with lower rates of complication, postoperative pain, and shorter duration of hospital stay.

Methods: We performed a prospective, open, uncontrolled trial of 64 patients to evaluate endoscopic laminoforaminoplasty for the treatment of refractory foraminal stenosis.

Surgical considerations of entire lumbar spine hardware removal via a minimally invasive approach.

A retrospective analysis of 13 patients who underwent endoscopic hardware removal to resolve residual foraminal stenosis issues was performed to determine the feasibility and validity of utilizing endoscopic techniques to entirely remove spinal hardware. Tubular retractors were utilized for the procedure with a diameter of 15 to 18 mm. Surgical times ranged from 58 to 268 minutes, with the largest time delay being the need to cut the crossbars in vivo due to stripped screws, bony overgrowth, or bent hardware.

Effects of unilateral endoscopic facetectomy on spinal stability.

There are various definitions for spinal instability and its exact clinical usefulness is uncertain. Facetectomy has been considered a potential source of instability via conventional approaches. Studies have suggested that if the ligament structure of the spine is maintained then instability may not occur with an endoscopic facetectomy.

Intradiscal injection of hematopoietic stem cells in an attempt to rejuvenate the intervertebral discs.

This study is a prospective analysis of 10 patients who underwent intradiscal injection of hematopoietic precursor stem cells (HSCs) obtained from their pelvic bone marrow in an attempt to rejuvenate the disc. Several studies in animals express the ability to regrow disc tissue with possible regenerative effects. No human studies have been done to date.

Sacroiliac joint debridement: a novel technique for the treatment of sacroiliac joint pain.

Objective: This study was a retrospective analysis of 38 patients who underwent sacroiliac joint debridement (SJD) as a treatment for confirmed sacroiliac joint (SI joint) pain.

Background Data: This is a new, unpublicized, minimally invasive (we define minimally invasive as a surgery with an incision of less than 1 inch) surgical technique. There are no prior studies on this surgery, but the surgery is compared to SI joint fusion surgery, which offers a success rate of 50-70% in larger studies.

Complications associated with cervical endoscopic discectomy with the holmium laser.

Objectives: Our aim was to determine the rate of surgical complications associated with cervical endoscopic discectomy (CED).

Background Data: There are no studies that state the degree of complications after CED.

Materials And Methods: Forty-one patients underwent CED with holmium laser.

Sometimes (what seems to be) a heart attack is (really) a pain in the neck.

A 31-year-old patient complained of severe crushing chest pain that radiated to his left arm and jaw. After admission to the hospital, tests revealed a normal electrocardiogram, normal treadmill, normal coronary arteriogram, and normal cardiac enzymes. However, the patient continued to have pain, which was relieved by sublingual and intravenous nitroglycerine.