A novel blasted and grooved low profile pedicle screw able to resist high compression bending loads.

Objective: Polyaxial pedicle screws are a safe, useful adjunct to transpedicular fixation. However, the large screw head size can cause soft tissue irritation, high rod positioning, and facet joint injury. However, the mechanical resistance provided by small and low profile pedicle screws is very limited.

Kyphoplasty versus vertebroplasty: restoration of vertebral body height and correction of kyphotic deformity with special attention to the shape of the fractured vertebrae.

Study Design: Retrospective comparative analysis.

Objective: We analyzed kyphosis correction, vertebral height restoration, and bone cement leakage in patients treated by vertebroplasty (VP) and kyphoplasty (KP) to compare the effectiveness of VP and KP for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.

Summary Of Background Data: Superior results have been reported for the use of KP for kyphotic deformity correction and collapsed vertebral height restoration.

Spinal surgery in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis therapy.

Study Design: Case series retrospective review.

Objective: To present the surgical treatment guideline for spinal diseases with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Summary Of Background Data: Treatment for spinal diseases with ESRD patients in is a special clinical challenge because of complex medical and clinical problems.

Magnetic resonance imaging findings of subsequent fractures after vertebroplasty.

Objective: The biomechanical effect of injected cement has been considered as the cause of adjacent vertebral fracture (AVF) after vertebroplasty, but the clinical evidence supporting this hypothesis is still insufficient.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 33 patients with subsequent fractures among 278 patients who underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty at our hospital from January 2002 to December 2005. The bone marrow edema pattern of subsequent fractures on magnetic resonance imaging was analyzed in 33 patients.

Clinical approach and surgical strategy for spinal diseases in pregnant women: a report of ten cases.

Study Design: Case series retrospective review.

Objective: To present the treatment guideline for spinal diseases in pregnant women.

Summary Of Background Data: Treatment for spinal diseases in pregnant women is a special clinical challenge because of complex medical and surgical clinical problems.

Developmental characteristics of neuropathic pain induced by peripheral nerve injury of rats during neonatal period.

To gain an insight into the developmental characteristics of neuropathic pain induced by peripheral nerve injury during neonatal period, we employed three groups of rats suffering from peripheral nerve injury at different postnatal times, and compared the onset time, severity and persistency of neuropathic pain behaviors, such as mechanical and cold allodynia. The first group (P0 group) was subjected to partial injury of tail-innervating nerves within 24 h after birth, the second group (P10 group) underwent nerve injury at postnatal day (P) 10, and the third group (P60 group) was subjected to injury at P60. Although mechanical allodynia was readily detectable in the P60 group even 1 day after nerve injury, the signs of neuropathic pain were observed from 6 or 8 weeks after nerve injury in the P0 or P10 groups, respectively.

Surgical treatments for lumbar disc disease in adolescent patients; chemonucleolysis / microsurgical discectomy/ PLIF with cages.

The herniated lumbar disc (HLD) in adolescent patients is characterized by typical discogenic pain that originates from a soft herniated disc. It is frequently related to back trauma, and sometimes it is also combined with a degenerative process and a bony spur such as posterior Schmorl's node. Chemonucleolysis is an excellent minimally invasive treatment having these criteria: leg pain rather than back pain, severe limitation on the straight leg raising test (SLRT), and soft disc protrusion on computed tomography (CT).

Unusual causes of trigeminal neuralgia treated by gamma knife radiosurgery. Report of two cases.

The purpose of this paper was to present two cases of secondary trigeminal neuralgia (TN) with an unusual origin and lesion location. In two cases TN was caused by lesions along the course of the trigeminal nerve within the pons and adjacent to the fourth ventricle. Both cases presented with typical TN.