Occipitocervical Revision Surgery Using the Bicortical Screw and Plate System for Failed Craniovertebral Junction Stabilization.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of the modified technique utilizing the occipital bicortical screws and plate system in occipitocervical revision surgery. METHODS: Between October 2010 and May 2018, 12 consecutive patients were retrospectively evaluated. All patients had posterior occipitocervical resurgery utilizing modified technique of bicortical screws and occipital plate. The measurements of extracranial occiput on midline were conducted on computed tomography (CT) scans. The thickness of the occipital bone at the location of external occipital protuberance and below 15 mm were evaluated, respectively. For the procedure, the trajectory was drilled perpendicular to the external occipital protuberance for the specified depth with a depth-limited drilling, 2 mm away from the internal bone plate, then the trajectory was deepened at intervals of 1 mm each time until reaching the internal bone plate. Meanwhile, a probe was used to explore all the walls of the trajectory. Bicortical screws were inserted to the occipital plate and the depth of penetration was less than 2 mm from the internal bone plate. Clinical efficacy and radiographic evaluation were followed up. RESULTS: The thickest point was the external occipital protuberance, which was 15.49 ± 1.47 mm and decreased gradually on the midline to 13.41 ± 1.60 mm at below 15 mm. Twelve cases (mean age 41.17 years; range, 24-62 years), including five males and seven females, were followed up for 24.08 months (14-32 months). The interval time was 40.42 months (3-156 months) after the initial operation. At the final follow-up, JOA score increased from 8.58 ± 2.53 before surgery to 12.67 ± 1.84 (P < 0.05) and VAS score improved from 6.17 ± 1.21 to 2.08 ± 1.32 (P < 0.05). Besides, clinical symptoms were relieved in all patients after revision surgery. All patients had rigid internal fixations with bone fusion and no major complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior occipitocervical plate-screw system with bicortical screws had the advantages of safety, simple and promising efficacy without excessive tissue release or intraspinal manipulation, proving that it's valuable as a modified technique for occipitocervical revision surgery.

[Analysis of clinical efficacy of unilateral open-door cervical laminoplasty combined with foraminotomy for cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of unilateral open-door laminoplasty combined with foraminotomy for cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament(OPLL). METHODS: The clinical data of 45 patients with OPLL underwent surgical treatment between September 2011 and September 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 26 males and 19 females with a mean age of 53.6 years old(ranged from 28 to 71 years). Among them, 24 cases received the surgery of unilateral open-door cervical laminoplasty combined with foraminotomy(combined group), and 21 cases received a single unilateral open-door cervical laminoplasty(single group). Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, complications including C5 nerve root palsy and axial symptoms were compared between two groups. Pre-and post-operative Japanese Orthopedic Association(JOA) score, improvement rate of neurological function, Neck Disability Index(NDI) score, and cervical Cobb angle were recorded and analyzed between the two groups. RESULTS: All the patients were followed up for 12-24 months, with an average of (14.3±2.8) months for combined groups and (13.7±3.1) months for single group, and no significant difference was found between the two groups(P>0.05). There was no significant difference in operation time and intraoperative blood loss between two groups(P>0.05). Postoperative JOA scores obtained obvious improvement in all patients(P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between two groups for the improvement rate of neurological function(P>0.05). At final follow-up, NDI scores of combined group and single group were 13.6±1.8 and 16.1±2.4 respectively, there was significant difference between two groups(P<0.05). The incidence of C5 nerve root palsy was lower in combined group(4.2%) than that of single group (28.6%). There was no significant difference in incidence rate of axial symptoms between two groups(P>0.05). There was no significant difference in cervical Cobb angle between pre-and post-operative conditions, or between two groups(P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral open-door cervical laminoplasty combined with foraminotomy is an effective method to treat cervical OPLL, which could provide sufficient decompression of spinal cord and nerve root, prevent the C5 nerve root palsy.

[Clinical study on spinal cord decompression combined with traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effect between spinal card decompression combined with traditional Chinese medicine and simple spinal card decompression for cervical spondylotic myelopathy. METHODS: From June 2012 to June 2015, 73 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy were treated, including 42 males and 31 females, aged from 29 to 73 years old with a mean of 50.9 years old. The patients were divided into the simple operation group (34 cases) and the operation combined with traditional Chinese medicine group(39 cases) according to the idea of themselves. The anterior discectomy or subtotal corpectomy with internal fixation or posterior simple open-door decompression with lateral mass screw fixation were performed in the patients. Among them, 39 cases were treated with traditional Chinese medicine after surgery. The Japanese orthopedic association (JOA) score of spinal cord function, the improvement rate of neural function, the neck dysfunction index (NDI) score and the governor vessel stasis syndrome score were compared between two groups preoperative and postoperative 1 week, 1 month and the final follow-up respectively. The internal fixation and the condition of spinal cord decompression were observed by CT, MRI and X-rays before and after operation. RESULTS: All the operations were successful, no injuries such as dura mater, spinal cord and nerve root were found. All the wounds were healed without infection except one patient had a superficial infection. It was solved after intermittent debridement and anti-infective therapy. Hematoma occurred in 1 case, complicated with spinal cord compression, caused incomplete paralysis, and promptly performed the re-operation to remove the hematoma without any obvious sequelae. All the patients were followed up from 12 to 24 months, (14.6±0.8) months for simple operation group and (13.5±0.7) months for operation combined with traditional Chinese medicine group, and there was no significant difference(P>0.05). The scores of JOA, NDI and the governor's vessel stasis syndrome in simple operation group were 8.31±3.15, 29.91±4.52, 6.58±1.31 before operation, and 10.21±2.58, 18.67±4.31, 8.24±1.18 one week after operation, and 11.38±2.85, 16.11±3.18, 8.91±2.11 one month after operation, and 12.21±3.12, 14.61±3.28, 9.12±1.56 at final follow-up, respectively; and in operation combined with traditional Chinese medicine group were 8.29±3.47, 30.83±4.14, 6.38±1.81before operation, and 10.48±2.39, 17.59±5.14, 8.33±1.57 one week after operation, and 12.14±3.12, 13.14±3.21, 9.55±2.49 one month after operation, and 13.85±3.34, 12.11±2.51, 10.33±1.95 at final follow-up, respectively. Postoperative JOA , NDI, and the governor vessel stasis syndrome score of two groups were significantly higher than preoperativee(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in JOA, NDI, and the governor vessel stasis syndrome score between two groups one week after operation (P>0.05). The above items in operation combined with traditional Chinese medicine group was better than that of simple operation group one month and final follow-up after operation (P<0.05). The improvement rate of neural function in simple operation group was (67.59±10.78)%, and in operation combined traditional Chinese medicine group was (66.88±12.15)%, there was no significant difference between two groups(P>0.05). There were no complications such as internal fixation failure or re-dislocation of atlas by postoperative CT, MRI and X-rays examination. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal card decompression for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy can extend the spinal canal, relieve the compression of nerve, achieve the deoppilation of governor vessel, the regulation of qi and blood, the restore of Yangqi, combined with traditional Chinese medicine of activating blood removing stasis, warming yang and activating meridians, reinforcing liver benefiting kidney, which may obtain better clinical effect.

Improved Intermittent-clamped Drainage in Lower Lumbar Internal Fixation: A Randomized Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Continuous negative pressure drainage (CNPD) is widely used after lower lumbar internal fixation; however, it may cause tremendous blood loss and lead to postoperative hemorrhagic anemia. The present study explored the efficacy and safety of improved intermittent-clamped drainage (ICD) for lower lumbar internal fixation. METHODS: This was a prospective study that included 156 patients with decompression of the spinal canal and internal fixation for the first time from January 2012 to December 2014. The patients were randomly divided into ICD group and CNPD group, and each group had 78 cases. A drainage tube was placed under the deep fascia in all patients within 10 min after the commencement of wound closure. The postoperative drainage amount at different time points, the hemoglobin level, and postoperative complications were recorded and compared between the two groups. Shapiro-Wilk test, independent samples t-test, and Mann-Whitney U-test were used in this study. RESULTS: The drainage amount was significantly reduced in the ICD group, as compared with the CNPD group (Z = 10.74, P < 0.01). The mean total drainage amount (in ml) of the single-segment and two-segment procedures was significantly greater in the CNPD group than the ICD group (Z = 10.63 and 10.75, respectively; P < 0.01). For the adverse events, there was no significant difference in postoperative temperature, wound problem, and complications between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed a statistically significant reduction in postoperative drainage amount between ICD and CNPD groups, and ICD is an effective, convenient, and safe method for routine use in lower lumbar surgery. It is essential to focus on the effect of clamping drainage with long-segment surgical procedure and complex lumbar disease in the further investigation, as well as the effect of clamping on long-term functional outcomes.