Technical Feasibility and Safety of Transpedicular Thoracic Partial Corpectomy Using Biportal Endoscopic Technique: A Novel Approach for Separation Surgery in Spinal Metastatic Disease.

Bony metastases frequently involve the spinal column, most commonly the thoracic spine. Surgical interventions in spinal metastatic disease are palliative and effective in providing diagnoses, reducing pain, and maintaining ambulatory function through neural element decompression and improving axial pain and posture through spinal column stabilization. Surgeons must weigh the benefits of surgery against fragility and limited life expectancy in patients with cancer.

Lumbar Spinal Fusion Outcomes in Patients With Cancer Compared to Matched Peers Without Cancer.

Study Design: Retrospective Matched Cohort Study.

Objectives: Optimization of medical comorbidities is an essential part of preoperative management. However, the isolated effects of individual comorbidities have not been evaluated within a homogenous spine surgery population.

Navigated Osteosynthesis for Unstable Atlas Fractures: Technical Note and Case Series.

Objective: Fractures of the atlas are typically considered stable or unstable based on the integrity of the transverse ligament. Whereas stable Jefferson burst fractures can be treated nonoperatively, unstable fractures with disruption of the transverse ligament often require surgical intervention. Atlas osteosynthesis has been proposed as a motion-preserving alternative to atlantoaxial fusion.

Upper instrumented vertebra pedicle screw loosening following adult spinal deformity surgery: incidence and outcome analysis.

Objective: Surgical correction of adult spinal deformity (ASD) is associated with a high rate of hardware complication that can be challenging to predict. Hardware integrity and alignment after surgery are typically followed with standing radiography, where pedicle screw loosening may be incidentally identified but the clinical significance of which is often unclear. This study aimed to identify the incidence and implications of pedicle screw loosening at the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) after surgical correction of ASD.

Preoperative anemia is associated with increased length of stay in adult spinal deformity surgery: evaluation of a large single-center patient cohort and future suggestions for patient optimization.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship of preoperative hemoglobin levels as an independent prognostic factor for hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) in patients undergoing surgery for adult spinal deformity (ASD), with the intent of determining whether there exists a correlation and enhancing patient preoperative optimization protocols.

Methods: The authors reviewed consecutive patients who underwent elective thoracolumbosacral posterior spinal fusion (PSF) involving six or more vertebrae for ASD from January 1, 2013, to December 13, 2021, with a minimum follow-up period of two years. This study primarily investigated the association of preoperative hemoglobin levels with hospital and ICU LOS.

Diabetes and heart disease do not affect short-term lumbar fusion outcomes accounting for other risk factors in a matched cohort analysis.

Objectives: Comprehensive preoperative management involves the identification and optimization of medical comorbidities while avoiding excessive healthcare utilization. While diabetes and heart disease are major causes of morbidity that can worsen surgical outcomes, further study is needed to evaluate how well current perioperative strategies mitigate their risks. This study employs an exact matching protocol to isolate the effects of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease on spine surgery outcomes.

Blood loss during three column osteotomies: influence on outcomes and mitigation strategies.

Background: Three column osteotomies (3CO) are a powerful tool for the correction of rigid sagittal spinal deformities. However, 3CO surgeries are technically demanding procedures that are associated with prolonged operative times, large amounts of intraoperative blood loss, and high rates of post-operative neurological and medical complications. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study is to delineate the effects of blood loss, blood transfusion, and tranexamic acid use on perioperative outcomes following 3CO.

Treatment strategies for cervical spondylotic myelopathy-is laminectomy alone a safe and effective option?

Background: Cervical laminectomy may be underutilized in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) due to concerns regarding potential for post-operative instability and/or kyphosis. The purpose of this retrospective, observational study is to assess the short-term clinical and radiological outcomes as well as complications associated with a group of carefully selected patients who underwent laminectomy alone for CSM and compared them to a cohort of patients who underwent laminectomy with fusion.

Methods: Patients with CSM were identified via review of a single surgeon's cases.

A Scoping Review of Intimate Partner Violence Research in Canada.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is at epidemic levels across low-, middle-, and high-income countries, including Canada, where recent lifetime prevalence indicated that over 40% of women had IPV experiences. In response to this, Canada's federal government has made investments toward IPV prevention and response. We conducted a scoping review of English and French literature identified through searches of multiple databases and specific journals to assess the current state of IPV research in Canada.

Return of intracranial beta oscillations and traveling waves with recovery from traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a pervasive clinical problem associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, TBI remains clinically and biophysically ill-defined, and prognosis remains difficult even with the standardization of clinical guidelines and advent of multimodality monitoring. Here we leverage a unique data set from TBI patients implanted with either intracranial strip electrodes during craniotomy or quad-lumen intracranial bolts with depth electrodes as part of routine clinical practice.

Integrating trauma- and violence-informed care for adolescent mothers in Rwanda: a qualitative study with community health workers.

Introduction: In Rwanda, maternal community health workers play a critical role to improving maternal, newborn and child health, but little is known about their specific experiences with adolescent mothers, who face unique challenges, including trauma, ongoing violence, stigma, ostracism, mental health issues, barriers within the healthcare system, and lack of access to the social determinants of health. This study explored the experiences of maternal community health workers when caring for adolescent mothers in Rwanda to inform the delivery of trauma- and violence-informed care in community maternal services.

Methods: Interpretive Description methodology was used to understand the experiences of 12 community health workers purposively recruited for interviews due to their management roles.

Management and outcomes of cerebrovascular injuries after gunshot wounds to the cervical spine.

Study Design: This study was a multicenter retrospective analysis of cervical spine gunshot wound (GSW) patients.

Objective: The present study was conducted to evaluate the management and outcomes of vascular injuries following GSW involving the cervical spine.

Summary Of Background Data: Gunshot wounds (GSW) injuring the cervical spine are associated with high rates of vascular injury.

Using a health equity lens to measure patient experiences of care in diverse health care settings.

People who are structurally disadvantaged and marginalized often report poor health care experiences, such as inequitable treatment, due to intersecting forms of stigma and discrimination. There are many measures of patient experiences of care, however, few are designed to measure equity-oriented health care. In alignment with ongoing calls to integrate actions in support of health equity, we report on the development and testing of patient-reported experience measures that explicitly use a health equity and intersectional lens.

Research with Black Communities to Inform Co-Development of a Framework for Anti-Racist Health and Community Programming.

Study Background: The effects of systemic racism were exacerbated and amplified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The resurgence of the "Black Lives Matter" movement in North America brought awareness to the public, especially white people, of the impacts of systemic racism in society and the urgent need for large-scale and institutional anti-racism work.

Purpose: In collaboration with a local Community Health Centre, this research focused on identifying priority areas for tailored and co-developed anti-Black racism interventions in health services and community programming, as well as examining how purposeful relationships can be created with African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in London, Ontario.

Multi-institutional review of characteristics and management of gunshot wounds to the spine.

Background Context: Gunshot wounds (GSWs) to the vertebral column represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, constituting approximately 20% of all spinal injuries. The management of these injuries is an understudied and controversial topic, given its heterogeneity and lack of follow-up data.

Purpose: To characterize the management and follow-up of GSWs to the spine.

Use of a machine learning algorithm with a focus on spinopelvic parameters to predict development of symptomatic tethered cord after initial untethering surgery.

Objective: Among patients with a history of prior lipomyelomeningocele repair, an association between increased lumbosacral angle (LSA) and cord retethering has been described. The authors sought to build a predictive algorithm to determine which complex tethered cord patients will develop the symptoms of spinal cord retethering after initial surgical repair with a focus on spinopelvic parameters.

Methods: An electronic medical record database was reviewed to identify patients with complex tethered cord (e.

Longitudinal effectiveness of a woman-led, nurse delivered health promotion intervention for women who have experienced intimate partner violence: iHEAL randomized controlled trial.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) threatens the safety, health and quality of life of women worldwide. Comprehensive IPV interventions that are tailored, take a long-term view of women's needs, including health concerns, and maximize choice and control, have the potential to effectively address heath and safety concerns. Few such interventions have been tested, including in the Canadian context.

Global and Gender Equity in Oligodendroglioma Research: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Oligodendrogliomas are rare brain tumors arising from oligodendrocytes; there is a limited understanding of their pathogenesis, which leads to challenges in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the oligodendroglioma literature to assess the current state of research, identify research trends, and elucidate implications for future research. The Lens database was used to retrieve journal articles related to "oligodendroglioma" without geographic or temporal restrictions.

Primary intradural extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma of the L3 nerve root: illustrative case.

Background: Ewing's sarcoma is an uncommon, aggressive malignancy that typically presents as an osseous lesion, most commonly in children and adolescents. Very rarely Ewing's sarcoma can present as an intradural extramedullary mass mimicking more common tumors.

Observations: A 32-year-old female had a left L3 nerve root-associated lesion identified in the setting of recent-onset radiculopathy.

Determining Differences in Perioperative Functional Mobility Patterns in Lumbar Decompression Versus Fusion Patients Using Smartphone Activity Data.

Background And Objectives: Smartphone activity data recorded through high-fidelity accelerometry can provide accurate postoperative assessments of patient mobility. The "big data" available through smartphones allows for advanced analyses, yielding insight into patient well-being. This study compared rate of change in functional activity data between lumbar fusion (LF) and lumbar decompression (LD) patients to determine preoperative and postoperative course differences.

Effects of Augmented Reality on Thoracolumbar Pedicle Screw Instrumentation Across Different Levels of Surgical Experience.

Objective: Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology that may accelerate skill acquisition and improve accuracy of thoracolumbar pedicle screw placements. We aimed to quantify the relative assistance of AR compared with freehand (FH) pedicle screw accuracy across different surgical experience levels.

Methods: A spine fellowship-trained and board-certified attending neurosurgeon, postgraduate year 4 neurosurgery resident, and second-year medical student placed 32 FH and 32 AR-assisted thoracolumbar pedicle screws in 3 cadavers.