No abstract

Placement of thoracic pedicle screws is both feasible and safe.

Object. The authors retrospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of a decompression and fixation technique in the treatment of patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Methods. The authors describe the “hybrid decompression fixation” technique, a procedure involving a combination of corpectomies and discectomies to preserve a vertebra intact within the area of the decompression, thus augmenting mechanical stability. The authors retrospectively reviewed outcomes in 25 patients with multilevel CSM in whom the hybrid technique was performed between 1999 and 2003. Twelve patients underwent a single-level corpectomy and three-level discectomies. In 13 patients a two-level corpectomy and adjacent four-level discectomies were conducted, leaving a vertebral bridge the middle. All patients underwent fusion involving placement of disc and vertebral body cages filled with autogenous local bone and supplemental anterior dynamic plate fixation. The mean preoperative Nurick grade was 3 and improvement in status was reflected by a postoperative decrease to 2.6 (p < 0.05). In one patient neurological deterioration was demonstrated. At the end of the follow-up period (mean 29 months) radiography revealed evidence of osseous fusion in 24 patients; fusion status could not be determined in one patient. No evidence of late-onset instrumentation-related failure was observed in any of the 25 patients. Conclusions. The authors found the hybrid technique to be safe and efficient for anterior decompression in patients with multilevel CSM. The use of this technique obviates the need for staged circumferential procedures.

OBJECT The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to identify risk factors for incidental durotomies in lumbar spine surgery. The authors hypothesized that the incidence of durotomy would be higher in cases involving multiple operations. METHODS The authors prospectively evaluated 523 patients who underwent lumbar and thoracolumbar spine surgery. They compared data on patients in whom a dural tear occurred and those in whom a dural tear did not occur. Data from patients in whom a dural tear occurred were compared with data from patients who did not experience durotomy. The data included basic demographic information, intraoperative data, and clinical information from a medical record review. RESULTS One hundred thirty-one patients underwent discectomy and 392 patients underwent laminectomy. Among the 131 patients who underwent discectomy 6 patients had a dural tear. Among the 392 patients who underwent discectomy 49 patients had dural tear. Patients with incidental durotomy were older (mean 65 ± 13 vs 60 ± 14 years of age; p = 0.044, t-test), and had longer surgery (146 ± 59 vs 110 ± 54 minutes; p = 0.025, t-test), compared with the patients without dural tear. The incidence of dural tear was more common in patients with a history of previous spine surgery (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In patients who underwent lumbar and thoracolumbar spine surgery for degenerative problems, previous surgery and older age were found to be predisposing factors for dural tear.