RESUMEN
Percutaneous spinal endoscopy is used for the treatment of disorders of the lumbar spine, as it has several advantages over traditional surgical methods. The performance of percutaneous spinal endoscopy is not possible without applying anesthesia methods. Two types (local and general) of anesthesia are used for percutaneous spinal endoscopy. Both, local and general anesthesia approaches contribute to safety in surgical procedures. Although it is believed that the method of local anesthesia has more benefits over general anesthesia, such as lowering the risk of postoperative neurological complications in a patient, the literature on the topic is inconclusive. The study aims to perform a comparative analysis of the two anesthesia methods using a prospective case-control design. Patients were divided into two groups: those who received local anesthesia (LA) (20 patients), and those who underwent general anesthesia (GA) (20 patients). As a result of the study, 40% of the patients experienced moderate pain and 5% of the patients experienced excruciating pain intraoperatively in the LA group. Although Visual Analog Scale and Oswestry Disability Index scores improved more rapidly in LA group, at the 12-month check-up point there was no significant difference between cases and controls. Nevertheless, there were postoperative complications such as nerve root injury in 10% of the patients; nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness in 15% of the patients in the GA group, and an insignificant or no such complications in patients of the LA group. The present study demonstrates that LA contributes to more positive short-term outcomes for patients as it facilitates nerve root damage prevention, and has no postoperative side effects on patients' well being.
RESUMEN
Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) has many advantages over traditional open surgical procedures that can be conducted for the therapy of different diseases of the spine. MISS provide many prospective advantages such as, for example, small incisions, less damage to soft tissues, early activation of patients, and a shorter postoperative hospital stay. The aim of the study was to evaluate institutional experience with Dumbbell tumors and metastatic lesions of the lumbar spine and compare it with traditional open surgical resection of this type of tumors. Fourteen patients underwent the surgery with minimally invasive posterolateral approach in experimental group, and 10 patients of the control group were operated using the traditional open surgery procedure at the Department of spinal neurosurgery and pathology of peripheral nervous system of JSC "National Center for Neurosurgery." The intraoperative neuro monitoring system (ISIS IOM System Compact, Inomed, Germany) was used in both groups. Sensory and motor evoked potentials were intraoperatively recorded. The present study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of the National Center for Neurosurgery. Patients signed informed consent before the surgical procedure. The experimental group included 14 patients, that underwent the surgery during the period from January 2020 till March 2021. And the control group included 10 patients that was operated from January 2018 to December 2019. The results of the treatment in both groups were assessed according to the generally accepted visual analog scale (VAS) and the Oswestry scales before, on the third day, and 3 months after the surgery. In experimental group, average reduction of the pain syndrome of 3.36 points (from 3 to 0 points) was observed in patients postoperatively according to the VAS 3 days, and of 4.0 points (from 2 to 0 points) 3 months after surgical procedures. Improvement by 23.86% (36-16%) was also observed using the Oswestry Disease Index (ODI) 3 days after the surgery, and then reduced to 21.00% (16-34%) in average in 3 months. All patients were revived 3 h after transfer to the specialist department. The average stay in the hospital was 6.5 (9-4) days in both groups. In control group, average reduction of the pain syndrome of 2.60 points (from 4 to 1 points) was observed postoperatively according to the VAS 3 days after the operation, and of 3.9 points (from 2 to 0 points) 3 months after the surgery. The ODI of patients was also improved by an average of 35.40% (50-20%) 3 days after the surgical procedure, and reduced to 24.20% (16-32%) in average 3 months after the surgery.
RESUMEN
Spinal tumors and unstable vertebral body fractures usually require surgical treatment including vertebral body replacement. Regarding primary stability, however, the best possible treatment depends on the spinal region. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of instrumentation length and approach size on thoracic spinal stability including the entire rib cage. Six fresh frozen human thoracic spine specimens with intact rib cages (C7-L1) were loaded with pure moments of 5 Nm in flexion/extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation, while monitoring the relative motions of all spinal segments using optical motion tracking. The specimens were tested (1) in the intact condition, followed by testing after vertebral body replacement at T6 level using a unilateral approach combined with (2) long instrumentation (T4-T8) and (3) short instrumentation (T5-T7) as well as a bilateral approach combined with (4) long and (5) short instrumentation. Significant increases of the range of motion (p < 0.05) were found in the entire thoracic spine (T1-T12) using the bilateral approach and short instrumentation in primary flexion/extension and in secondary axial rotation during primary lateral bending compared to both conditions with long instrumentation, as well as in secondary lateral bending during primary axial rotation compared to unilateral approach and long instrumentation. Compared to the intact condition, the range of motion was significantly decreased using unilateral approach and long instrumentation in flexion extension and secondary lateral bending during primary axial rotation, as well as using bilateral approach and long instrumentation in lateral bending. On the segmental level, the range of motion was significantly increased at T4-T5 level in lateral bending using unilateral approach and short instrumentation and significantly decreased using bilateral approach and long instrumentation compared to their respective previous conditions. Regardless of the approach type, which did not affect thoracic spinal stability in the present study, short instrumentation overall shows sufficient primary stability in the mid-thoracic spine with intact rib cage, while creating considerably more instability compared to long instrumentation, potentially being of importance regarding long-term implant failure. Moreover, short instrumentation could affect adjacent segment disease due to increased motion at the upper segmental level.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Expandable titanium implants have proven their suitability as vertebral body replacement device in several clinical and biomechanical studies. Potential stabilizing features of personalized 3D printed titanium devices, however, have never been explored. This in vitro study aimed to prove their equivalence regarding primary stability and three-dimensional motion behavior in the mid-thoracic spine including the entire rib cage. METHODS: Six fresh frozen human thoracic spine specimens with intact rib cages were loaded with pure moments of 5 Nm while performing optical motion tracking of all vertebrae. Following testing in intact condition (1), the specimens were tested after inserting personalized 3D printed titanium vertebral body replacement implants (2) and the two standard expandable titanium implants Obelisc™ (3) and Synex™ (4), each at T6 level combined with posterior pedicle screw-rod fixation from T4 to T8. FINDINGS: No significant differences (P < .05) in primary and secondary T1-T12 ranges of motion were found between the three implant types. Compared to the intact condition, slight decreases of the range of motion were found, which were significant for Synex™ in primary flexion/extension (-17%), specifically at T3-T4 level (-46%), primary lateral bending (-18%), and secondary lateral bending during primary axial rotation (-53%). Range of motion solely increased at T8-T9 level, while being significant only for Obelisc™ (+35%). INTERPRETATION: Personalized 3D printed vertebral body replacement implants provide a promising alternative to standard expandable devices regarding primary stability and three-dimensional motion behavior in the mid-thoracic spine due to the stabilizing effect of the rib cage.
