Comparison of rostral facet joint violations in robotic- and navigation-assisted pedicle screw placement for adult lumbar spine instrumentation.

Background Context: Facet joint violation by pedicle screws may lead to adjacent-segment disease and postoperative pain. Previous studies have reported the incidence of rostral facet joint violation using various pedicle screw insertion techniques. However, the incidence of facet joint violations with robotic guidance has not been determined.

Single-Level Anterolateral and Posterior Interbody Fusion Techniques are Associated With Equivalent Long-Term Lumbar Reoperations.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: This study compares reoperation rates and complications following single-level anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)/lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)/posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF).

Summary Of Background Data: ALIF, LLIF, TLIF, and PLIF are widely used for degenerative disc disease.

Intervertebral disc human nucleus pulposus cells associated with back pain trigger neurite outgrowth in vitro and pain behaviors in rats.

Low back pain (LBP) is often associated with the degeneration of human intervertebral discs (IVDs). However, the pain-inducing mechanism in degenerating discs remains to be elucidated. Here, we identified a subtype of locally residing human nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), generated by certain conditions in degenerating discs, that was associated with the onset of discogenic back pain.

Adjacent Segment Impingement: A New Type of Adjacent Segment Disease?: A Report of 3 Cases.

Case: We present 3 cases in which spinal rods extending beyond the intended level of fusion caused injury to adjacent structures, which we term "adjacent segment impingement." All cases presented as back pain with no neurological symptoms, with a minimum 6 years of follow-up from the initial procedure. Treatment consisted of extending the fusion to include the affected adjacent segment.

Postoperative Spinal Cerebrospinal Fluid-Venous Fistulas Associated With Dural Tears in Patients With Intracranial Hypotension or Superficial Siderosis-A Digital Subtraction Myelography Study.

Background: Postoperative spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are common but rarely cause extensive CSF collections that require specialized imaging to detect the site of the dural breach.

Objective: To investigate the use of digital subtraction myelography (DSM) for patients with extensive extradural CSF collections after spine surgery.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed to identify a consecutive group of patients with extensive postoperative spinal CSF leaks who underwent DSM.

Perioperative Complications Following Spine Surgery in Adult Patients with Achondroplasia.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To describe the common types of complications and their risk factors during spine surgery in patients with achondroplasia.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of medical records of adult achondroplasia patients who underwent spine surgery at our institution between 2007 and 2021.

Occipitocervical fusion of traumatic atlanto-occipital dissociation in a patient with autofused cervical facet joints: illustrative case.

Background: Patients who survive traumatic atlanto-occipital dissociation (AOD) may present with normal neurological examinations and near-normal-appearing diagnostic images, such as cervical radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scans.

Observations: The authors described a neurologically intact 64-year-old female patient with a degenerative autofusion of her right C4-5 facet joints who presented to their center after a motor vehicle collision. Prevertebral soft tissue swelling and craniocervical subarachnoid hemorrhage prompted awareness and consideration for traumatic AOD.

Evaluation of tortuous vertebral arteries before cervical spine surgery: illustrative case.

Background: Cervical spine surgery sometimes necessitates complex ventral/dorsal approaches or osteotomies that place the vertebral artery (VA) at risk of inadvertent injury. Tortuosity of the VA poses increased risk of vessel injury during anterior decompression or placement of posterior instrumentation.

Observations: In this report, the authors describe a patient with degenerative cervical spondylotic myelopathy and focal kyphotic deformity requiring corrective surgery via a combined ventral/dorsal approach.

Motion preserving management of unstable traumatic clivus fracture extending through bilateral occipital condyles.

We describe non-operative management a rare traumatic clival fracture extending through the bilateral occipital condyles. Clinical History: A 26-year-old female who was involved in a high-speed motor vehicle crash presented to an outside facility with difficulty speaking. Subsequent CT of the cervical spine demonstrated a fracture of the clivus with extension through the bilateral occipital condyles.

NF-κB inhibitor, NEMO-binding domain peptide attenuates intervertebral disc degeneration.

Background Context: Nonphysiological mechanical loading and inflammation are both critically involved in intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, which is characterized by an increase in cytokines and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) in the nucleus pulposus (NP). This process is known to be mediated by the NF-κB pathway.

Clinical Significance: Current clinical treatments for IVD degeneration focus on the alleviation of symptoms rather than targeting the underlying mechanism.

Unusual Exophytic Appearance of Spinal Cord Subependymoma.

Background: Subependymomas are rare in the spinal cord. They are typically expansile, intramedullary spinal cord masses, eccentrically located with minimal gadolinium enhancement.

Case Description: We present a case of subependymoma originating from the cervical cord with an unusual exophytic appearance.

Biomechanical evaluation of a simulated T-9 burst fracture of the thoracic spine with an intact rib cage.

Object: Classic biomechanical models have used thoracic spines disarticulated from the rib cage, but the biomechanical influence of the rib cage on fracture biomechanics has not been investigated. The well-accepted construct for stabilizing midthoracic fractures is posterior instrumentation 3 levels above and 2 levels below the injury. Short-segment fixation failure in thoracolumbar burst fractures has led to kyphosis and implant failure when anterior column support is lacking.