A practical method for real-time detection of pedicle wall breaching during funneling.

BACKGROUND: A reliable, real-time method for the detection of pedicle wall breaching during funnelling in spine deformity surgery could be accessible to any surgeon assisted with neuromonitoring. METHODS: Fifty-six consecutive patients (1066 pedicles), who were submitted to spinal deformity surgery from December 2013 to July 2015 were included in the study group. A control group of 13 consecutive patients (226 pedicles) with spinal deformity surgery were operated on from January to December 2013 and were excluded from finder stimulation. In the study cohort, continuous stimulation during funnelling was delivered via a finder and subsequently a compound muscle action potential (CMAP) threshold was determined. Following funnelling, manual inspection of the pedicular internal walls was performed. The CMAP thresholds were compared with the results of palpation to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the technique for detecting pedicular breaching. To cover common ranges of damage, the medial and lateral breaches were compared and the concave-apical breaches compared to the non-apical or convex-apical breaches. In addition, a pedicle screw test was estimated for all patients. RESULTS: ROC analysis showed 9 mA cut-off to have a sensitivity of 88.0% and a specificity of 89.5% for predicting pedicular breaching, with an area under the curve of 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.90-0.94; P < 0.001). Using 9 mA threshold as an alert criterion, funnelling at the concave-apical pedicles showed significantly more true and false positive alerts and fewer true negative alerts when compared with the non-apical and convex-apical pedicles (P < 0.001). Medial breaches had significantly lower stimulation thresholds than lateral breaches (P < 0.001). Thresholds of screw-testing were significantly higher for study than for control-patients (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Finder stimulation has a considerably higher sensitivity and specificity for prediction of pedicular breaching, most prominent for medial breaches. Screw-testing displayed significantly better results in patients undergoing the finder stimulation technique, as compared with the control group. The main advantages of our method are its high safety level and low cost, which may be critical in less affluent countries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

C5 Palsy Following Cervical Spine Decompression.

BACKGROUND: Cervical spinal surgery is considered safe and effective. One of the few specific complications of this procedure is C5 nerve root palsy. Expressed primarily by deltoid muscle and biceps brachii weakness, it is rare and has been related to nerve root traction or to ischemic spinal cord damage. OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical and epidemiological traits of C5 palsy. To determine whether C5 palsy occurs predominantly in one specific surgical approach compared to others. METHODS: A retrospective study of patients who underwent cervical spine surgery at our medical center during a consecutive 8-year period was conducted. The patient data were analyzed for demographics, diagnosis, and surgery type and approach, as well as for complications, with emphasis on the C5 nerve root palsy. RESULTS: The study group was comprised of 124 patients. Seven (5.6%) developed a C5 palsy following surgery. Interventions were either by anterior, by posterior or by a combined approach. Seven patients developed this complication. All of whom had myelopathy and were older males. A combined anteroposterior (5 patients) and posterior access (2 patients) were the only approaches that were associated with the C5 palsy. None of the patients who were operated via an anterior approach did develop this sequel. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of the C5 root palsy in our cohort reached 5.6%. Interventions performed through a combined anterior-posterior access in older myelopathic males, may carry the highest risk for this complication.

Patient outcomes and survival following surgery for spinal metastases.

Context: There is no consensus on the preferred treatment for patients with spinal metastases. Little is known about the outcomes of surgery for this population. The objectives of this paper are to examine the outcomes of surgery among patients with spinal metastases suffering from cord compression (CC) or intractable pain (IP).Design: Retrospective, descriptive (level 4) case series.Setting: Rabin Medical Center, Israel.Participants: 61 patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastasis in a tertiary care hospital. Patients were divided into two groups: those with spinal CC and those with IP only.Interventions: Surgery due to CC or IP among patients with spinal metastases.Outcome measures: Frankel scale to assess neurological status, ambulatory and incontinence status, which were examined before surgery, at discharge and at last follow-up. Endpoints were death or latest follow-up visit. Survival and postoperative complications were documented.Results: There was no significant difference in Frankel score before and after surgery among patients with CC (mean score 3.5 and 3.4 respectively, P = 0.62). Complete incontinence rates significantly increased in patients with CC between preoperative and last follow-up examinations (13.6% vs. 20%, respectively, P = 0.05). Median survival of CC and IP groups was 201 and 402 days, respectively (P = 0.32). Complication rate was 41.4%.Conclusion: In our cohort, Frankel score and walking capability of patients with CC did not change postoperatively, but continence status deteriorated over time. Surgeons should advise patients on expected surgical outcomes, especially in non-ambulatory and incontinent patients.

Incidental Durotomy Following Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion Performed with the Modified Wiltse Approach.

PURPOSE: Incidental durotomy is an intraoperative complication that occurs in 3 to 27% of lumbar spine surgeries. It has been reported more commonly following revision spinal procedures. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To investigate the frequency of incidental durotomy while performing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) using the modified Wiltse approach. A secondary goal was to compare the incidence of durotomy in patients undergoing primary spine surgery with those undergoing revision surgery. METHODS: A group of consecutive patients who had undergone (TLIF) in the last 10 years ending in 2015 were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent TLIF via the modified Wiltse approach that included a central midline skin incision, followed by a paravertebral blunt dissection of the paraspinal muscles to reach the transverse processes. The deep paravertebral dissection was done conservatively, one side at a time. Demographic and clinical data were collected when relevant to the comparison. RESULTS: The study cohort encompassed 257 patients: 200 primary cases and 57 revisions. The frequency of incidental durotomy was equal in both groups: 3.5% each (7/200 and 2/57). All durotomies were repaired primarily. No other immediate or late complications were observed during follow-up. CONCLUSION: The present study displays a limited incidence of durotomy in the primary interventions and to a lesser degree in the revisions, all of which had used a TLIF performed with the modified Wiltse approach. This procedure probably circumvented the need for further revisions.

Pleural Dural Fistula After Anterior Excision of Thoracic Disc Hernia: Suggested Repair Procedure.

A young woman displayed a dural tear during thoracic spine surgery. The corpectomy was by anterior approach, after thoracotomy. The dural defect was plastered by a fatty flap and a pleural layer. One month later, she exhibited a right pleural effusion. No consensual intervention is available for this complication. This dural fistula was sealed by a triple patch comprising a flap of intercostal muscles. The incidence of dural leaks following an anterior thoracic spinal surgery is infrequent but not rare. A long delay from the index surgery is unusual. Three years after the repair, the patient is free from complaints.

Classification of Solitary Plasmacytoma, Is it more Intricate than Presently Suggested? A Commentary.

A query regarding the definition and the classification of solitary plasmacytoma is apparently still pending. The clinical course, the response to treatment and the propensity to progress to plasma cell myeloma, are all a function of the classification which must be established on a firm basis. Solitary plasmacytoma should be recognized in the continuum of the plasma cell neoplasms. Moreover, whether the solitary plasmacytoma of bone and the extramedullary type of the tumor represent two distinct disease entities, exhibiting separate biological characteristics, has not been finally established. To appraise the similarities and differences between these two types of lesion, we have scrutinized recent investigations relating their classification. A commentary highlighting our conclusions follows.

Traumatic glioblastoma: commentary and suggested mechanism.

The role of head trauma in the development of glioblastoma is highly controversial and has been minimized since first put forward. This is not unexpected because skull injuries are overwhelmingly more common than glioblastoma. This paper presents a commentary based on the contributions of James Ewing, who established a major set of criteria for the recognition of an official relationship between trauma and cancer. Ewing's criteria were very stringent. The scholars who succeeded Ewing have facilitated the characterization of traumatic brain injuries since the introduction of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Discussions of the various criteria that have since developed are now being conducted, and those of an unnecessarily limiting nature are being highlighted. Three transcription factors associated with traumatic brain injury have been identified: p53, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, and c-MYC. A role for these three transcription factors in the relationship between traumatic brain injury and glioblastoma is suggested; this role may support a cause-and-effect link with the subsequent development of glioblastoma.

Challenge of handling a Charcot spinal arthropathy with a novel hybrid fibular autograft and expandable cage.

A 26-year-old man, who was paraplegic for 6 years due to a motor vehicle accident, presented to the authors' clinic following his incapacity to withstand a sitting posture, the frequent sensation of "clicks" in his back, and a complaint of back pain while in his wheelchair. On imaging, his dorsal spine showed a complete arthrodesis of the primarily fused vertebrae. However, distal to this segment, a Charcot spinal arthropathy with subluxation of T12-L1 was evident. Repair of this complex, uncommon, late complication of his paraplegia by the frequently used fusion techniques was shown to be inappropriate. A novel and elaborate surgical procedure is presented by which a complete fusion of the affected spine was secured. A left retrodiaphragmatic approach was used. Complete corpectomy of both the T-12 and L-1 vertebrae to the preserved endplates was performed. Most of the patient's fibula was resected and shaped for engrafting. The segment of the fibula was introduced into a mesh cage, before its intramedullary implantation into the T-12 and L-1 vertebrae. This 2-step procedure combined the hybrid use of a fibular autograft and an expandable mesh cage, incorporated one into the other, in an innovative intramedullary position. This intervention allowed the patient to resume his former condition as an extremely physically active patient with paraplegia. Nine years later, an asymptomatic early-stage Charcot spine was found at L5-S1, but no treatment is planned at this point.

Nailing before vascular repair in tibial fracture with associated arterial injury.

The incidence of arterial injuries in extremity fractures is approximately 1% to 2%. In patients with combined vascular and orthopedic injury but without a mangled extremity, the decision whether to give priority to the fracture fixation or to the vascular repair is still somewhat controversial. We successfully used the unreamed tibial nail before the arterial repair when treating an open tibial shaft fracture associated with a torn anterior tibial artery and present it as an illustrative case for the method. Fracture alignment was achieved manually and an unreamed tibial nail was introduced. The nail was secured only proximally by two interlocking screws inserted through jig. The procedure provided good alignment and length for end-to-end reconstruction of the anterior tibial artery. The distal interlocking screws were inserted at the end of vascular reconstruction.