Mean 5-Year Follow-Up Results of a Facet Replacement Device in the Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Degenerative Spondylolisthesis.

OBJECTIVE: Flexible stabilization has been utilized to maintain spinal mobility in patients with early-stage lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Previous literature has not yet established any nonfusion solution as a viable treatment option for patients with severe posterior degeneration of the lumbar spine. This feasibility study evaluates the mean 5-year outcomes of patients treated with the Total Posterior Spine System (TOPS) facet replacement system in the surgical management of lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis. METHODS: Ten patients (2 men, 8 women, mean age: 59.6 years) were enrolled into a non-randomized prospective clinical study. Patients were evaluated with standing anteroposterior, lateral, flexion and extension radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging scans, back and leg pain visual analog scale scores, Oswestry Disability Index, Zurich Claudication Questionnaire and the SF-36 questionnaires, preoperatively, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and latest follow-up at a mean of 5 years postoperatively (range: 55-74 months). Flexion and extension standing lumbar spine radiographs were obtained at 2 years to assess range of motion at the stabilized segment. RESULTS: The clinical outcome scores for the cohort improved significantly across all scoring systems. Radiographs at 2 years did not reveal any loss of position or loosening of metal work. There were 2 incidental durotomies and no failures at 5 years, with no patient requiring revision surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The TOPS implant maintains clinical improvement and motion in the surgical management of LSS and spondylolisthesis, suggesting that it can be considered an option for these indications.

Functional Outcome of Kyphoplasty in Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures in Patients with Severe Disability Above 60 Years of Age: Mid to Long Term Follow up.

BACKGROUND:  Vertebral osteoporotic fractures are a worldwide problem and can cause significant morbidity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: retrospective analysis reviewing functional outcome of 70 patients who underwent balloon-kyphoplasty(BK). Inclusion criteria, a-patients above 60 years of age b-symptomatic patients who failed conservative treatment c-radiological diagnosis of vertebral compression fracture(VCF). Primary outcome was evaluation of functional outcome in mid- (1-3 years) and long term (>3 years). Secondary outcomes a-analysis of the functional outcome of patients with severe disability or worse in mid- and long-term b-comparison of functional outcome between mid-term and long term follow-up c-correlate number of levels operated on with functional outcome. RESULTS: There were 70 patients with average age of 74 years. Lumbar and thoracic VCFs were included. Average follow-up was 2.7 years. Twenty-eight patients had long-term follow-up of ≥ 3 years and the remaining 42 had mid-term follow-up of > 1 year and < 3 years. All patients experienced clinical and statistically significant improvement in their Oswestry Disability Index score. This was the case in mid-term and long-term follow-up. This was also the case for patients presenting with severe disability. There was no correlation between the number of levels and functional outcome. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures are fragility fractures and can be associated with significant morbidity. 2. Surgical treatment can help improve functional outcome on failure of conservative treatment. 3. Balloon kyphoplasty can significantly improve pa-tients' functional outcome in mid-term and long-term follow-up including patients presenting with severe disability or worse. 4. This study is of value in consenting kyphoplasty patients as they can expect an improvement in their disability in the mid-to-long term.

Disseminated Hydatid Disease in a Child Involving Multiple Organ Systems: A Case Report.

Hydatid disease is a parasitic infestation by Echinococcus granulosus, which involves the liver and lungs primarily. The authors report a case of disseminated hydatid disease involving multiple organs simultaneously in a 7-year-old child from Kabul, Afghanistan. The patient under examination had been having a complaint of cough and low-grade fever for the last one year. Computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography (USG) demonstrated cystic lesions in his liver, lungs, spleen, and suprarenal region. The literature review showed that it was very rare for hydatid disease to involve multiple organs simultaneously, even in endemic areas, and the management of disseminated disease was very challenging, especially in the pediatric population.

Intra-operative cell salvage in pelvic and acetabular fracture surgery: a retrospective comparative study.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To determine if the intraoperative use of cell salvage (CS) led to a decrease in allogeneic blood transfusion by comparing with a control group that did not receive CS. We also looked at the effects of injury severity and surgical approach. METHODS: This was a retrospective study at a major trauma center. One hundred and nineteen patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation of pelvic and acetabular fractures with (59 patients) or without intra-operative blood cell salvage (60 patients). The main outcome measurements were allogeneic blood transfusion during and after surgery with respect to CS, injury severity and surgical approach. RESULTS: We did not find any significant difference in the allogeneic blood transfusion between the CS and non-CS groups (rate-62% vs. 48%, p value 0.12 {significant at < 0.05}, volume 5.56 units vs. 5.58 units, p value 0.33). The rate (71.1% vs. 48.9%, p = 0.02) and volume (7.6 units vs. 4.3 units, p value 0.00057) of post-operative blood transfusion was significantly higher in the more severely injured (ISS > 20), but there was no significant difference between the CS and non-CS groups. No significant difference was seen between either patients who had anterior or posterior surgical approaches. CONCLUSIONS: We did not find CS clearly efficacious clinically or cost effective, even in the more severely injured patients or when different surgical approaches were used. We do not advocate the routine use of CS in pelvic and acetabular surgery, but selectively, based on surgeon and patient preference.

Encouraging Medium-term Results of Wallis Second Generation Dynamic Stabilisation Device.

BACKGROUND: Aim of this prospective study was to evaluate safety and efficacy of second generation Wallis system for degenerative lumbar disc disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 25 patients underwent discectomy and insertion of Wallis system. Outcome assessment was done using Modified Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analogue scale (VAS) for backache and leg pain. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 20.5 months. The mean VAS for backache and leg pain showed significant improvement from 7.2 to 3.0 (p<0.001) and mean modified Oswestry disability index showed significant improvement from 59.1 to 24.7 (p<0.001). Only one patient (4%) underwent revision surgery for persistent pain due to granulation tissue deep to the implant. There were no other complications. CONCLUSION: The Wallis spine system is a safe and effective implant for treating degenerative lumbar disc disease.

A rare case of late solitary vertebral metastasis from an adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lacrimal gland.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lacrimal gland is one among the common malignancies affecting the lacrimal gland. However, overall, it is a rare condition. It has a rather poor prognosis with local recurrence and distant haematological metastasis which are invariably multiple. We present a rare case of a 51-year-old woman who presented with localised lower thoracic pain with collapse of the T10 vertebral body, which turned out be a solitary late metastasis from her previously treated lacrimal gland tumour.