Does Elevated Mean-Arterial Pressure Lead to Better Outcomes in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy?- A Prospective, Pilot Randomized Control Trial.

STUDY DESIGN: Randomized Control Trial. OBJECTIVE: DCM refers to compression of spinal cord either due to static/dynamic causes or commonly, a result of combination of both. Number of variables exist, which determine prognosis post-surgery. Role of intra-operative blood pressure has not been analyzed in depth in current literature. Elevating MAP post SCI is widely practiced and forms a recommendation of AANS/CNS Joint Committee Guidelines. This led us to investigate role played by elevated MAP during surgery for DCM, in order to optimize outcomes. METHODS: This prospective randomized comparative pilot study was conducted at a tertiary care spine centre. 84 patients were randomly divided in two groups. Group 1 had intra-operative MAP in normal range. Group 2, had intra-operative BP 20 mmHg higher than preoperative average MAP with a variation of + 5 mmHg. Outcomes were recorded at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year by mJOA, VAS and ASIA scale. RESULTS: Neurological improvement was documented in 19/30 (63.3%) patients of hypertensive group compared to 16/30 (53.3%) patients of normotensive group. Improvements in mJOA scores were better for hypertensive group during the 1-year follow-up. Improvement in VAS scores were comparable between two groups, but at 1-year follow-up the VAS score of hypertensive groups was significantly lower. CONCLUSION: MAP should be individualized according to preoperative average blood pressure assessment of patient. Keeping intraoperative MAP at higher level (preoperative MAP + 20 mmHg) during surgery for DCM can result in better outcomes.

A Mid-term Comparison of the Functional Outcomes of Medial Pivot and Rotating Platform Mobile-Bearing Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Indian Population.

BACKGROUND: Both medial pivot (MP) and rotating platform (RP) mobile-bearing (MB) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have been developed to better mimic the natural knee kinematics and femoral roll back in flexion. The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the mid-term functional outcomes and range of motion (ROM) of MP and RP types of total knee arthroplasty. METHODS: 116 patients (mean age of 66.3 years) undergoing TKA (52 Medial pivot design and 64 Rotating Platform design) were evaluated retrospectively with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) knee score, knee society score (KSS) with its subgroups namely, Knee Score (KSKS) and Functional Score (KSFS) and forgotten joint score (FJS) at a mean follow-up of 7.1 years. Range of motion (ROM) and tibiofemoral anatomic angle on the radiographs were also compared. RESULTS: Mean ROM, WOMAC and KSKS improved significantly from pre-operative to postoperative knees in both the groups. There was, however, no significant difference between the two groups at the final follow-up. In contrast, mean KSFS score improved to 89.5 ± 8.1 in MP group and 86.3 ± 7.1 in RP Group (p = 0.025), while mean FJS was 85.6 ± 4.1 and 80.9 ± 5.4 in the MP and RP groups, respectively (p = < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Satisfactory clinical and functional outcomes can be obtained using either a MP or RP knee joint in tricompartmental osteoarthritis of knee. The MP design scores better on the KSFS score and FJS than the RP-TKA.

Prospective Randomized Control Pilot Study to Compare the Role of Injection Cerebrolysin in Operated cases of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective randomized control trial. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze role of cerebrolysin in patients of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) managed by surgical modalities. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Cerebrolysin has been extensively researched with variable success in neurodegenerative pathologies. There has been only one study in published literature till date that has studied role of cerebrolysin in DCM in conservatively managed patients but none in the patients treated surgically. We present our pilot study which analyzes the role of cerebrolysin in patients of DCM managed by surgical modalities. METHODS: This prospective randomized control trial was conducted at a tertiary care institute in Mumbai. Sixty operated cases of DCM were randomly divided into 2 groups. The first group was given Injection Cerebrolysin 5 mL diluted in 100 mL Normal Saline over 30 minutes once a day for 21 days postoperatively. The second group was given placebo. Modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scores (mJOA) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to document functional outcomes at 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Recovery of hand function was separately accessed by improvement in hand power and sensations. RESULTS: Preoperative mJOA and VAS scores were comparable between 2 groups. Both groups showed significant improvement in both mJOA and VAS scores at 3weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1-year follow-up (P < 0.01). In comparing the two groups, there was no difference in improvement of mJOA and VAS scores. However, cerebrolysin group showed significant improvement in hand function at 1 year compared to the placebo. Postoperative neurological recovery was better in the cerebrolysin group with 66.7% patients showing complete neurological recovery compared to 56.7% for placebo, but this was statistically insignificant. Two patients developed headache and one patient complained of dizziness in the cerebrolysin group, but these resolved without any intervention. CONCLUSION: Use of cerebrolysin in postoperative cases of DCM is safe and results in improved hand function.Level of Evidence: 1.

Incidence of Dural Tears in Open versus Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: A Single-Center Prospective Study.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective comparative study. PURPOSE: To compare the incidence of unintended durotomy and return to work after open surgery versus minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) for degenerative lumbar pathologies. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: The incidence of accidental durotomy varies between 0.3% and 35%. Most of these are from open surgeries, and only a handful of studies have involved the MIS approach. No single-center studies have compared open surgery with MIS, especially in the context of early return to work and dural tear (DT). METHODS: This study included 420 operated cases of degenerative lumbar pathology with a prospective follow-up of at least 6 months. Patients were divided into the open surgery and MIS groups, and the incidences of DT, early return to work, and various demographic and operative factors were compared. RESULTS: A total of 156 and 264 patients underwent MIS and open surgery, respectively. Incidental durotomy was documented in 52 cases (12.4%); this was significantly less in the MIS group versus the open surgery group (6.4% vs. 15.9%, p <0.05). In the open surgery group, four patients underwent revision for persistent dural leak or pseudomeningocele, but none of the cases in the MIS group had revision surgery due to DT-related complications. The incidence of DT was higher among patients with high body mass index, patients with diabetes mellitus, and patients who underwent revision surgery (p <0.05) regardless of the approach. The MIS group returned to work significantly earlier. CONCLUSIONS: MIS was associated with a significantly lower incidence of DT and earlier return to work compared with open surgery among patients with degenerative lumbar pathology.

Primary Myoepithelial Carcinoma of the Cervical Spine: A Case Report.

CASE: A 36-year-old man presented with a subacute onset left upper limb weakness. Further investigation revealed a myoepithelial carcinoma arising from the C3-C5 vertebrae. He underwent 2-stage surgery with tumor excision and postoperative radiotherapy. An improvement in power was noted, and no recurrence was observed at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Myoepithelial tumors are rare at skeletal locations and require a high degree of suspicion. Immunohistochemistry plays a vital role in establishing the diagnosis. A complete resection is paramount for a favorable outcome.

Does a high BMI affect the outcome of minimally invasive TLIF? A retrospective study of 207 patients.

PURPOSE: We investigated whether a high Body Mass Index (BMI) affects the outcomes following Minimally Invasive TLIF (MI-TLIF) for degenerative lumbar pathologies. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken to include patients operated between January 2016 and January 2020 with at least one-year follow-up. Various preoperative and demographic parameters were recorded and the patients were classified into normal, overweight and obese based on the BMI. The operative and outcome measures used for assessment were surgical time, blood loss, number of levels operated upon, skin incision length, day of independent mobilisation, total hospital stay including ICU stay, return to work and Visual Analogue Score (VAS) for back pain (VAS-BP) and leg pain (VAS-LP) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Attainment of Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) for the scores was calculated. Multivariate analyses were done to assess the effect of BMI on different parameters. RESULTS: Blood loss and postoperative ICU stay were found to be higher in the obese patients. However, the other variables were comparable. VAS-BP, VAS-LP and ODI scores were significantly improved in all the patients with no inter-group variability. The MCID attainment was also similar. The satisfaction rating at 1-year and willingness for surgery again for similar disease was also similar. The overall complication rate was 14.9% and was comparable among the groups. Multivariate analyses revealed no significant association between BMI and various parameters. CONCLUSION: In patients treated by MI-TLIF for degenerative lumbar spine pathology, BMI is not a factor that negatively affects the functional and clinical outcomes.

Conjoint Nerve Root an Intraoperative Challenge in Minimally Invasive Tubular Discectomy.

Conjoint nerve root (CNR) is an embryological nerve root anomaly that mainly involves the lumbosacral region. The presence of CNR during tubular discectomy raises the chances of failure in spinal surgery and the risk of neural injuries. Tubular discectomy can be challenging in the presence of CNR owing to limited visualization. Here, we present a technical note on two cases of L5-S1 disc prolapse in the presence of conjoint S1 nerve root that was operated via a minimally invasive tubular approach. Any intraoperative suspicion of CNR while using the tubular approach should prompt the surgeon to perform a thorough tubular decompression prior to nerve root retraction. In patients with a large disc, disc should be approached via the axilla because the axillary area between the dura and the medial boarder of the root is very easy to approach in the presence of CNR. Safe performance of tubular discectomy is possible even in the presence of CNR in the lumbar spine.

Leprosy-Induced Hip Arthritis: A Rare Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection, classically presents with cutaneous and neurological manifestations. Joint involvement in leprosy can present as acute symmetrical or chronic polyarthritis with or without tenosynovitis resembling rheumatoidarthritis. CASE REPORT: We report a rare case of lepromatous hip arthritis in a 32-year-old male, known case of leprosytenosynovitis and symmetrical polyarthritis of hands and feet 3 weeks after appearance of typical cutaneous lesion. The patient was started on anti-leprosy and steroid treatment. After 9 months of treatment and recurrent exacerbation of symptoms, the patient developed bilateral hip pain. Hip pain was diagnosed as bilateral avascular necrosis hip on magnetic resonance imaging which progressed to the left hip arthritis later on. The patient underwent staged total hip arthroplasty (THA) for the left hip arthritis, with debridement and antibiotic spacer in the first stage and final hip prosthesis in the second stage. CONCLUSIONS: Leprosy can present with large joint-like hip involvement including tenosynovitis and acutesymmetrical polyarthritis. Two-stage THA is an alternative treatment option for patients with advanced arthritis of the hip under some difficult conditions. The Harris hip score was increased from 35 preoperatively to 91.5 at the final follow-up.