A novel mini-open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for lumbar degenerative diseases: technical note and preliminary results.

BACKGROUND: Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is an effective and popular surgical procedure for the management of various spinal pathologies, especially degenerative diseases. Surgeons have been pursuing minimally invasive technology as soon as TLIF was appeared. Currently, TLIF can be performed with transforaminal approaches by open surgery, minimally invasive surgery or percutaneous endoscope. We provide a detailed description of a new modified open TLIF with percutaneous pedicle screws, which we refer to as mini-open TLIF. The objective of this study was to present feasibility of this procedure and the preliminary results. METHODS: The study is a prospective study. From January 2021 to March 2022, 96 patients (43 males and 53 females) with neurological symptoms due to degenerative lumbar spine diseases were enrolled. Operation time, blood loss, ambulatory time, hematocrit and complications were recorded during perioperative period. Clinical symptoms were evaluated 1 week, 3 months and 12 months after surgery. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for lower back pain and leg pain and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were assessed. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively to emulate cross-sectional area of paraspinal muscles. The lumbar interbody fusion rate was evaluated by CT scanning. RESULTS: The mean operation time of single level was 112.6 min, and the mean operation time of multilevel was 140.1 min. Intraoperative blood loss of single level was 64.5 ml and was 116.3 ml of multilevel. The VAS and ODI scores before and after surgery were significantly different (P < 0.0001) and reached minimal clinically important difference. Atrophy rate of paraspinal muscles was 2.5% for symptomatic side and 1.2% for asymptomatic side. The cross-sectional area before and after the operation and atrophy rate had no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Mini-open TLIF is effective and feasible for the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases especially in multilevel disease, with minor damage to muscle and shorter operation time. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (No. JD-LK2023045-I01).

Key Points in Subperichondrial-Subperiosteal Dissection.

"Subperichondrial-subperiosteal dissection technique (SSDT) decreases soft tissue injury to a minimum by protecting soft tissues from dissection and retraction traumas. The fact remains that dissecting the perichondrium of the nasal tip cartilages is not effortless. Cartilages may be harmed if dissection is not initiated at the right location. The aforementioned surgeons have routinely used the SSDT between the years 2008 and 2019 in more than 4000 rhinoplasties. The number of the surgeons making use of the SSDT will increase with the understanding of the key points in dissection, their ordering, and use of correct instrumentation."

Specificity of facelift surgery, including mid facelift, in case of facial palsy.

The asymmetry created by the facial palsy is of course a cause of demand for facelift surgery. As this lifting action is specific and different from the standard procedures, 3 zones of analysis are proposed: first the frontal and temporal areas with the direct eyebrow lift, second the neck and jawline with action on the depressor anguli oris for the non-paralyzed side and the anterior sub SMAS dissection and third the midface. A new and more simple technique of concentric malar lift is proposed. The first publication on concentric malar lift was made 11years ago. Midface rejuvenation stays very challenging. As a proof of that, many authors prefer a partial rejuvenation of mid face with fat reinjection, with no effect on skin excess, even if all the MRI studies demonstrated no fat loss with time but only fat transfer. This proves that midface lift did not acquire enough simplicity, reliability to become a standard procedure. Six hundred concentric malar lift later, a technical simplification validated with 110 patients and 2years of follow-up is proposed. The improvement is due to a new way to pass the threads deeply on the bone, using permanent barbed sutures. This surgery becomes easier and more efficient.

Distraction osteogenesis for complex foot deformities: Gigli saw midfoot osteotomy with external fixation.

Open midfoot wedge osteotomy correction can cause neurovascular compromise, requires extensive exposure, sacrifices normal joints, and shortens the foot. We used a minimally invasive technique to treat complex foot deformities by combining percutaneous Gigli saw midfoot osteotomy, circular external fixation, and acute, gradual, or gradual with acute manipulation correction. The medical records of 23 patients (26 feet) with complex foot deformities (congenital, 18 feet; neuromuscular, 4 feet; post-traumatic, 3 feet; malunion, 1 foot) who had undergone treatment within an 18-year period (1990 through 2007) were retrospectively reviewed. We also performed the procedure on 10 cadaveric limbs to determine whether anatomic structures were at risk. Correction was achieved in all feet. The mean duration of external fixation treatment was 4.2 (range 3 to 7) months. The mean follow-up duration was 4.7 (range 2 to 18) years. A significant difference was observed in the pre- and postoperative, lateral view, talar-first metatarsal angle (p = .001). Minor complications (4 feet) consisted of bony exostoses. Major complications included recurrent deformity in 3 feet and sural nerve entrapment in 1 foot. Two patients had mild and one moderate foot pain. Three patients had impaired gait function; the remaining patients had functional gait. The mean interval until wearing regular shoes after external fixation removal was 2.3 (range 1 to 4) months. All but 1 of the patients were satisfied with the final results. We observed no cadaveric neurovascular injury. Our results have shown that percutaneous Gigli saw midfoot osteotomy can be performed without neurovascular injury and is capable of successfully correcting complex foot deformities.

Surgical management of inverted papilloma: approaching a new standard for surgery.

BACKGROUND: Inverted papilloma surgery is currently performed primarily with an endoscopic approach, a technique that has a recurrence rate of 12%. However, a recent study reported a recurrence rate of 5% with a strategy based on subperiosteal dissection of the tumor, with limited indications for using an external approach. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether different teams using the same surgical concepts could reproduce the excellent results that were recently reported. METHODS: This study is a retrospective chart review of 71 consecutive patients with inverted papilloma who were treated during the last 10 years. RESULTS: In all, 80% of the patients were treated using a purely endoscopic approach. The mean follow-up period was 31.6 months. The recurrence rate was 3.3% for cases with at least a 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This work confirms the results described in recent literature and further supports transnasal endoscopic surgery to manage inverted papilloma.

Eyebrow Lift and Malar Fat Lift by Absorbable Suture Fixation with Subperiosteal Dissection

In some blepharochalasis patients, upper blepharoplasty alone is not satisfactory because of narrow distance between eyebrow and eyelash. On that occasion, eyebrow lift is advisable. There are many methods of classical eyebrow lift, such as direct excision, transblepharoplasty approach, anterior hairline technique, and so on. But they are not so effective, have a tendency to recur and also give rise to side effects; unacceptable scar, facial nerve palsy, sensory loss and hematoma, etc. Some patients who have prominent nasolabial folds, are reluctant to perform face lift procedure due to psychologic or economic burden. The authors performed the eyebrow lift procedure separately or simultaneously with face lift or forehead lift. After making 2 or 3 slit incisions, we passed absorbable suture material, 3-0 vicryl, through suborbicularis oculi fat layer. Then it was passed through subperiosteal plane and fixated to the temporalis fascia. When patients complain prominent nasolabial folds, malar fat pad was elevated also in the same manner. This methods is effective and has minimal complication such as facial nerve palsy, scar, sensory loss. Recurrent tendency was rarely observed during follow- up. Dimples were observed at slit incision sites but they disappeared within 2 or 3 weeks. Eyebrow lift and malar fat lift by absorbable suture elevation with subperiosteal dissection is a simple and less morbid. Because of its effectiveness and little side effect or complication, this procedure can be a useful method.

Case report of chronic recurrent dislocation treated by subperiosteal dissection of masticatory muscles