Heterotopic ossification associated with myelopathy following cervical disc prosthesis implantation.

This case report presents a 37-year-old man with clinical signs of myelopathy almost 9 years after implantation of a Bryan disc prosthesis (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN, USA) for C5/C6 soft disc herniation. As demonstrated on MRI and CT scan, spinal cord compression was caused by bony spurs due to heterotopic ossification posterior to the still moving prosthesis. The device, as well as the ectopic bone deposits, had to be removed because of myelopathy and its imminent aggravation. Conversion to anterior spondylodesis was performed.

Posterior decompression salvages Bryan total disc arthroplasty in post-operatively recurrent uncoforaminal stenosis.

We report on 69 retrospectively reviewed patients who received 73 Bryan (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN, USA) total disc arthroplasties for recent soft cervical disc herniations over a 9.3year period. Three patients returned with radiculopathy due to the redevelopment of uncoforaminal stenosis at the Bryan segment and later underwent posterior decompression of the uncoforaminal area without modification to the prosthesis. They recovered from the radiculopathy after decompression; however, one patient later required adjacent segment fusion to recover from concomitant cervicalgia. After posterior decompression, all prostheses continued to function normally. In one patient, however, bony bridging of the prosthesis is imminent, despite being currently asymptomatic. We normally exclude patients with uncoforaminal stenosis from Bryan arthroplasty. Analysis of three of these patients (4.3% of patients, 4.1% of prostheses) revealed that they received a prosthesis despite slight uncoforaminal stenosis (slight stenosis was known prior to surgery in one instance, two others were only discovered intra-operatively). Our observation raises the suspicion that slight uncoforaminal stenosis could also recur in physiologically working arthroplasty segments, and that in some instances this spur formation may progress into prosthesis bridging. However, more research is required to confirm the significance of uncoforaminal stenosis discovered pre- or intra-operatively in arthroplasty patients. Posterior minimally invasive decompression using the Frykholm-Scoville keyhole approach successfully treats uncoforaminal stenosis without revising the prosthesis.

A 6.5-year follow-up of 14 patients who underwent ProDisc total disc arthroplasty for combined long-standing degenerative lumbar disc disease and recent disc herniation.

A highly selected cohort of nine women and five men (mean age±standard error of the mean, 39.6±10.2 years) with discogenic low-back pain (duration: 75.4±97.5 months) and radiculopathy due to disc herniation (duration: 9.4±11.8 months) underwent anterior microdiscectomy and ProDisc-L II arthroplasty (Synthes, Oberdorf, Switzerland) (L5/S1 in 13 patients, L4/5 in one). As reported earlier, initial results were excellent in 11 and good in three patients at 17.8±4.7 months. At an average of 6.5 years after surgery, all were reassessed using the SWISSDISC-questionnaire, which involves the EuroQol-5D and North American Spine Society evaluations (general health, low-back and lower limb status), and a telephone call. Patients reporting an unsatisfactory outcome were re-examined clinically and radiologically. Results were excellent for 10, good for two, satisfactory for one, and poor for one patient. Visual analog scores for back and leg pain at 6.5 years had improved significantly relative to preoperative values (p<0.01), and were only slightly higher than at 1.48 years (p=0.3). This study confirms the initial favorable results.

Bryan total disc arthroplasty: a replacement disc for cervical disc disease.

Total disc arthroplasty is a new option in the treatment of cervical degenerative disc disease. Several types of cervical disc prostheses currently challenge the gold-standard discectomy and fusion procedures. This review describes the Bryan Cervical Disc System and presents the Bryan prosthesis, its indications, surgical technique, complications, and outcomes, as given in the literature.

Fluoronavigation-assisted, lumbar vertebroplasty for a painful Schmorl node.

Lumbar Schmorl nodes usually remain asymptomatic. Painful nodes either heal spontaneously or respond to conservative therapy in most instances. Diagnosis and treatment may be difficult in patients presenting with chronic back pain. We present a 31-year-old man with a lumbar Schmorl node that was unrecognised for 10 years as the origin of his severe chronic back pain. Finally, MRI revealed a significant oedematous rim around a huge Schmorl node in the L4 vertebra. After conservative therapy failed the patient underwent a successful fluoronavigation-assisted, percutaneous vertebroplasty. In the absence of other pathological conditions, an oedematous rim around the node (as seen on MRI) is probably the pain generator in chronic back pain. We believe that the relevant nociceptors are located in the oedematous rim and not in the node itself. Therefore, cement augmentation of the rim is expected to be a successful treatment. Fluoronavigation facilitates safe access to the vertebral body.

Bryan cervical disc prostheses: preservation of function over time.

Preserving the function of cervical disc prostheses, even over the short term, is a matter of concern among surgeons. Our case series highlights our results and protocol for increasing the probability of continued device function. Twenty-five consecutive patients with a mean (+/-SEM) age of 44.3+/-8.3 years underwent 29 cervical total disc arthroplasties for disc herniations. Three patients underwent primary bilevel arthroplasty, and one patient underwent a second arthroplasty for another herniation 2 years after the first. Prosthesis ranges of motion were measured using dynamic plain X-ray studies and compared to the ranges of motion of adjacent segments. At follow-up, all prostheses were in the correct location and without subsidence. All displayed firm secondary stability. One segment had fused. Twenty-eight of 29 devices were mobile an average of 9.5 degrees +/-4.7 degrees (range 3 degrees to 20 degrees ) (for all 29 devices the average movement angle was 9.2 degrees +/-5 degrees ; range 0 degrees to 20 degrees ), 25 upper adjacent segments were mobile an average of 10.9 degrees +/-4.5 degrees (range 2 degrees to 20 degrees ) (excluding the fused prosthesis: 11 degrees +/-4.6 degrees ) and 15 lower adjacent segments were mobile an average of 9.8 degrees +/-6 degrees (range 1 degrees to 21 degrees ). With our protocol, 28 of 29 cervical disc prostheses in 25 consecutive patients were mobile after an average of 22.3+/-9.4 months. Prosthesis motion was physiological and very similar to that of the healthy adjacent segments. Long-term studies including larger numbers of patients are required to validate our initial observations.

Vertebroplasty combined with pedicular instrumentation.

Osteoporosis and cancer patients may suffer sudden severe back pain due to vertebral body osteolysis, microfractures and/or compression fractures. These patients need immediate restabilisation of the vertebral body to eliminate the pain generator, to prevent further crushing, and to reduce the comorbidity of prolonged immobilisation. Vertebroplasty combined with pedicular instrumentation is presented as a therapy for a selected group of such patients. Eight patients with an average age of 69.1 years experienced significant relief from disabling back pain. The ability to ambulate increased significantly. The risks associated with prolonged bed rest and hospital stay were reduced. There were only minor surgical complications. Follow-up was short because of the limited life expectancy of these severely ill patients. Disabling back pain was successfully treated and ongoing vertebral body collapse was prevented by vertebroplasty combined with pedicular instrumentation in the eight selected osteoporosis and cancer patients.

Intradural extramedullary arachnoid cyst of the thoracic spine associated with cord compression.

In this report, a 55-year-old Caucasian women with an arachnoid cyst of the thoracic spine is presented. This cyst remained undiagnosed because of the nonspecific nature of her symptoms over approximately three months. Only when she started to complain of ataxia, a posterior fluid collection compressing the spinal cord was found in MRI. Even though preoperative diagnosis remained uncertain, this additional neurological dysfunction warranted surgical treatment. Surgery was successful with respect to in-toto removal of the intradural, extramedullary cyst, reversal of cord compression and symptoms. Histological diagnosis was of an arachnoid cyst.

Double-segment Wilhelm Tell technique for anterior lumbar interbody fusion in unstable isthmic spondylolisthesis and adjacent segment discopathy.

The Wilhelm Tell technique is a novel instrumented anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) procedure using a specially designed composite carbon fibre cage and a single short-threaded cancellous screw that obliquely passes through the upper adjacent vertebral body, the interbody cage itself and through the lower adjacent vertebral body. This single-stage fusion method, which is in principle a combination of the Louis technique and modern cage surgery, is reported to have a lower rate of pseudoarthrosis formation than stand-alone cage techniques. In addition, it eliminates both the surgical trauma of paravertebral muscle retraction and the risk of neural damage by poorly located pedicular screws. This anterior approach allows decompression of neural structures within the anterior part of the spinal canal and the foraminal region. It is the purpose of this case report, to present the successful application of this novel technique in a 32-year-old woman who concurrently suffered from severe instability-related back pain from L4/5 isthmic spondylolisthesis and marked L5/S1 degenerative disc disease.

A novel surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation in patients with long-standing degenerative disc disease.

OBJECT: In patients with long-standing lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) conventional surgical therapy of a herniated disc may worsen back pain due to further destabilization of the affected motion segment. In recent years, total-disc arthroplasty has been introduced to treat DDD while maintaining segmental mobility. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report involving lumbar disc herniation and long-standing DDD submitted to combined anterior microdiscectomy with sequestrectomy and total-disc arthroplasty. METHODS: Fourteen patients with long-standing DDD and a recently herniated disc underwent total anterior lumbar microdiscectomy, with removal of the herniated disc, and total-disc arthroplasty. There were nine women and five men whose mean age was 39.6 years (range 22-56 years) in whom back and leg pain had been present for a mean of 75.4 (range 9-360) and 9.4 (range 0.33-36) months, respectively. Thirteen patients underwent L5-S1 and one underwent L4-5 surgery. In all cases the procedure and the postoperative courses were uneventful. After a mean follow-up period of 12.5 months (range 3.9-21.1 months), outcome was excellent in 11 and good in three patients. CONCLUSIONS: The aforementioned surgical treatment of a recently herniated lumbar disc in patients with long-standing DDD yielded very favorable early results.

Salvage of gastric restriction following staple-line dehiscence after vertical banded gastroplasty by insertion of an adjustable gastric band.

BACKGROUND: Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) has been a common and safe surgical treatment for morbid obesity. However, the complication of staple-line dehiscence (SLD) results in VBG failure. We present a minimally invasive revision procedure when SLD occurs: gastric restriction is salvaged by adjustable gastric banding (AGB), usually laparoscopically, providing that the previous restriction had achieved sufficient weight loss initially and was well-tolerated. METHODS: 13 patients with unexplained weight regain after VBG were found to have SLD on endoscopy. AGB was performed to re-establish restriction. Weight loss and complications were compared with two control groups: the first undergoing uncomplicated VBG, and the second undergoing AGB alone. Follow-up of 4.3+/-0.1 (mean+/-SEM) years after salvage reoperation, including complications, reoperations and weight loss, were studied. RESULTS: Insertion of the band through the retrogastric tunnel was feasible in all cases, despite adhesions in the area of the VBG Marlex band, the proximal stomach, and left lobe of liver. There was no surgeryrelated mortality. Following "salvage AGB", weight loss and overall complication rates were similar between the study group and the two control groups. CONCLUSION: Salvage of gastric restriction by AGB after SLD secondary to VBG is safe and reliable, despite the possibility of adhesions. Morbidity is low and intermediate-term weight loss is comparable to patients with uncomplicated VBG.

Long-term outcome in 132 consecutive patients after posterior internal fixation and fusion for Grade I and II isthmic spondylolisthesis.

OBJECT: The authors assessed the late outcome of patients with Meyerding Grade I and II isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS) who underwent posterior instrumentation and posterolateral fusion (PLF). Decompression and posterior internal fixation with PLF is the classic surgical treatment for painful low-grade IS. Nevertheless, outcome data are scarce and of limited value mainly because they represent small numbers of patients, short follow-up periods, or both. METHODS: The authors obtained data in the cases of 132 consecutive adult patients (mean age 40.6 years, range 15.2-69.9 years) with IS who underwent treatment between 1984 and 2003. Assessment involved analysis of responses to mailed questionnaires, clinical charts and, in cases in which unsatisfactory results were suspected, results of clinical reevaluations. Spondylolisthesis was present at L3-4 in three patients, L4-5 in 14, L3-4 in one, L3-5 in one, L5-S1 in 113, and S1-2 in one. Signs and symptoms included back and leg pain (65.3%), leg pain alone (26.3%), back pain alone (8.4%), and neurological dysfunction (18%). At a mean follow-up duration of 9.9 years (range 0.5-19.4 years), favorable results were reported for back and leg pain in 91.7 and 87.1% of patients, respectively. The mean visual analog scale scores were 2.13 for back and 1.59 for leg pain. Eighty-four patients resumed full- or part-time work, and 56.8% were capable of performing housework more easily. In 45.5% of the patients analgesic medications were not required, and 43.9% required them sporadically. The majority (63.6%) of patients reported they would undergo surgery again and recommended it to others. Thirteen (9.9%) suffered adjacent-segment morbidity, and in seven (5.3%) pseudarthrosis was documented. There were two deep and one superficial infections (2.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Posterior instrumentation and PLF, with possible neurodecompression, yielded favorable long-term results in this retrospective study of 132 patients with low-grade IS.

Post-traumatic cervical kyphosis with surgical correction complicated by temporary anterior spinal artery syndrome.

Post-traumatic undiagnosed disco-ligamentous and osseous lesions of the cervical spine may eventually result in irreducible extreme kyphosis. Correction of such consolidated deformities requires major surgery with a combined posterior and anterior approach, aiming to correct bony impingement on neural and vascular structures, reduce deformity and to attain circumferential instrumentation and fusion in physiological alignment. This can be achieved using either a single-staged or a two-staged procedure. Regardless, this type of major surgery entails considerable neurological risks. Therefore, thorough planning of the intervention and considerable surgical experience is needed. We present an elderly woman with gross restriction of forward gaze and intractable nuchal and radicular pain due to cervical spine deformity. Her cervical kyphosis was corrected using preoperative skeletal axial traction for four days and subsequent operative reduction with circumferential instrumentation and fusion. The post-operative course was complicated by a temporary anterior spinal artery syndrome despite normal intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) and by a wound infection requiring removal of the implant. Nevertheless, segmental fusion in physiological alignment was successfully achieved and the patient fully recovered from the neurological deficit and infection. Quality of life was significantly improved.

Vertebroplasty for metastasis.

Vertebral metastases are frequently asymptomatic; however, the occurrence of a pathological (micro-)fracture may be associated with unremitting pain, instability, and even kyphoscoliotic deformity and require prompt and effective treatment. In symptomatic patients, the beneficial effect of conservative therapies requires too much time. Vertebroplasty (VP) may be an additional or even alternative local treatment modality for such patients. Currently, up to 80% of VP patients report important relief of metastasis-related pain. Ongoing deformity of the vertebral body is avoided. Morbidity rates are very low and the complication rates are markedly below 10%. Fatalities, if any, are almost always the result of cancer comorbidity rather than related to the VP procedure itself. The patient's mobility is often improved, thus avoiding much of the comorbidity of prolonged conservative treatment and bed rest. VP can successfully be combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, neurodecompression, and instrumentation. Even though VP is no panacea, it may be helpful to selected patients and instantly improve quality of life. Currently, VP has a solid basis for the palliative treatment of thoracic, lumbar, and sacral metastasis.

The Wilhelm tell technique for anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Technical note.

Experience indicates that stand-alone cages may lack the necessary stability to secure highly unstable motion segments at the lumbosacral junction. The authors have designed a special carbon fiber composite interbody cage that allows additional screw placement in anterior lumbar interbody fusion procedures performed at the lumbosacral junction.

[Monosegmental , degenerative, cervical discopathy treated by surgery with insertion of an intervertebral cage]. / Discopathie cervicale dégénérative monosegmentale traitée par chirurgie avec insertion d'une cage intervertébrale.

Monosegmental, degenerative, cervical discopathy may become symptomatic because of spinal instability or neurocompression and may present as cervicalgia, radiculopathy and myelopathy. Conservative therapy of these conditions is indicated only in case of minor symptoms. In patients with radiculopathy, this treatment may be used for a longer period of time than in individuals with myelopathy. However, the disorder may progress and lead to irreversible complaints, especially in case of myelopathy. Therefore, the surgical treatment is preferred: if conservative therapy does not improve symptoms within a short period of time and if the patient continues to suffer, surgery is clearly indicated. Only recently, novel surgical methods such as microtechniques and cage surgery were introduced. The results of these types of surgery in this indications are very favourable with respect to recovery from pain, paresis and sensory deficits, rates of fusion of the motion segment, morbidity and mortality.