Frequency, utilization, and hospital charges of spinal fusion have increased at a higher rate than other notable inpatient procedures, as seen in this study from 1998 to 2008. In addition, patient demographics and hospital characteristics changed significantly; in particular, whereas the average age for spinal fusion increased, the in-hospital mortality rate decreased.
ProDisc-L has been found to be safe and efficacious. In properly chosen patients, ProDisc-L has been shown to be superior to circumferential fusion by multiple clinical criteria.
This study demonstrated a higher rate of subsequent fracture after kyphoplasty compared with natural history data for untreated fractures. Most of these occurred at an adjacent level within 2 months of the index procedure. After this 2-month period, there were only occasional subsequent fractures, which occurred at remote levels. This confirms biomechanical studies showing that cement augmentation places additional stress on adjacent levels. Patients with an increase in back pain after kyphoplasty should be evaluated carefully for subsequent adjacent fractures, especially during the first 2 months after the index procedure.
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