Rate of Return to Military Active Duty After Single and 2-Level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A 4-Year Retrospective Review.

Background: Over the years of rigorous of military service, military personnel may experience cervical spondylosis and radiculopathy. Given the frequency of this occurrence, the capacity to return to unrestricted full duty in the military after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is worthy of analysis.

Objective: To identify the rate of return to full, unrestricted active duty after single and 2-level anterior cervical discectomy, and fusion surgery in military personnel.

Hemorrhagic intramedullary hemangioblastoma of the cervical spinal cord presenting with acute-onset quadriparesis: case report and review of the literature.

Context: Hemangioblastomas of the spinal cord are uncommon vascular tumors. Patients commonly present with subtle neurologic findings that are thought to represent growth of the lesion over time. Hemorrhage of an intramedullary hemangioblastoma presenting as acute neurologic deficit is an extremely rare occurrence.

Rate of return to military active duty after single level lumbar interbody fusion: a 5-year retrospective review.

Background: Lumbar interbody fusion has been extensively studied in the civilian population; however, data regarding its efficacy in the military are lacking.

Objective: To identify the rate of return to unrestricted active military duty after single-level lumbar interbody fusion surgery.

Methods: The surgical database at a single tertiary care military treatment facility was queried for active-duty patients who underwent a single-level lumbar interbody fusion over a 5-year period.

Progressive vertebral body osteolysis after cervical disc arthroplasty.

Study Design: Case report.

Objective: To review the management of a patient with progressive osteolysis of the vertebral body after undergoing cervical arthroplasty for management of a refractory radiculopathy.

Summary Of Background Data: Since the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of cervical arthroplasty devices in 2007, many surgeons have incorporated this technology into clinical practice.

Arthroplasty in the military: a preliminary experience with ProDisc-C and ProDisc-L.

Object: The introduction of cervical and lumbar arthroplasty has allowed for management of cervical radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative disease in patients with the preservation of motion at the affected segment. While the early clinical outcomes of this technology appear promising, it remains unclear what activity limitations should be imposed after surgery in patients with these implants. This is of particular interest in military personnel, who may be required to return to a rigorous level of activity after surgery.

Management of unilateral cervical radiculopathy in the military: the cost effectiveness of posterior cervical foraminotomy compared with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

Object: To review the cost effectiveness for the management of a unilateral cervical radiculopathy with either posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) or anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in military personnel, with a particular focus on time required to return to active-duty service.

Methods: Following internal review board approval, the authors conducted a retrospective review of 38 cases in which patients underwent surgical management of unilateral cervical radiculopathy. Nineteen patients who underwent PCF were matched for age, treatment level, and surgeon to 19 patients who had undergone ACDF.

Long-term maintenance of cervical alignment after occipitocervical and atlantoaxial screw fixation in young children.

Object: Despite decades of surgical experience, the long-term consequences of occipitocervical (OC) and atlantoaxial (C1-2) fusions in children are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term effects of these fusions on growth and alignment of the maturing cervical spine.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients 6 years of age or younger (mean 4.

Atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation: a review of surgical indications, fusion rate, complications, and lessons learned in 67 pediatric patients.

Object: In this, the second of two articles regarding C1-2 transarticular screw fixation, the authors discuss their surgical experience in treating patients 16 years of age and younger, detailing the rate of fusion, complication avoidance, and lessons learned in the pediatric population.

Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed 67 consecutive patients (23 girls and 44 boys) younger than 16 years of age in whom at least one C1-2 transarticular screw fixation procedure was performed. A total of 127 transarticular screws were placed in these 67 patients whose mean age at time of surgery was 9 years (range 1.

Atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation: a review of surgical indications, fusion rate, complications, and lessons learned in 191 adult patients.

Object: In this, the first of two articles regarding C1-2 transarticular screw fixation, the authors assessed the rate of fusion, surgery-related complications, and lessons learned after C1-2 transarticular screw fixation in an adult patient series.

Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed 191 consecutive patients (107 women and 84 men; mean age 49.7 years, range 17-90 years) in whom at least one C1-2 transarticular screw was placed.

Cavernous hemangioma of the skull presenting with subdural hematoma. Case report.

Cavernous hemangioma of the calvaria is a very rare disease, and patients usually present with headaches or a visible skull deformity. Few reports of patients presenting with intradiploic or epidural hemorrhages are found in the literature. No case of an intradural hemorrhage from a cavernous hemangioma of the skull has been reported to date.

False-negative magnetic resonance angiography with extracranial internal carotid artery stenosis: a report of two cases and review of the literature.

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is increasingly used as a noninvasive means to assess internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. When used alone, however, MRA may not be sufficiently accurate in certain settings to determine whether ICA disease meets surgical criteria. Although MRA has been recognized to overestimate the degree of stenosis, the authors present two cases in which it severely underestimated arterial stenosis.