Predictors of long-term opioid dependence in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with a focus on pre-operative opioid usage.

Purpose: Predictors of long-term opioid usage in TLIF patients have not been previously explored in the literature. We examined the effect of pre-operative narcotic use in addition to other predictors of the pattern and duration of post-operative narcotic usage.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study at a single academic institution of patients undergoing a one- or two-level primary TLIF between 2014 and 2017.

Use of Gabapentin in Posterior Spinal Fusion is Associated With Decreased Postoperative Pain and Opioid Use in Children and Adolescents.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine associations of gabapentin use with inpatient postoperative daily pain scores and opioid use in children undergoing PSF for AIS.

Summary Of Background Data: Gabapentin use in posterior spinal fusion (PSF) postoperative pain management for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is increasingly common in order to decrease opioid use and improve pain control, though there is conflicting data on dosing and effectiveness to support this practice in real world settings.

The value of sitting radiographs: analysis of spine flexibility and its utility in preoperative planning for adult spinal deformity surgery.

Sitting radiographs are a valuable tool to consider the thoracic compensatory mechanism in patients who are candidates for thoracolumbar correction surgery.

Postoperative MRI of the shoulder.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of the postoperative shoulder presents technical and diagnostic challenges related to imaging artifacts from hardware and micrometallic shavings, postsurgical scarring, and morphological alterations. Improved visualization of postoperative shoulder anatomy and pathology can be obtained with the use of metal artifact reduction techniques as well as MR arthrography. In this article we review the MR techniques that are designed to address these technical and diagnostic challenges, and we discuss the definitions and indications, normal MRI appearance, and complications of routine surgical procedures for treatment of injuries to the rotator cuff, labral ligamentous complex, and biceps tendon.