OBJECT The authors present a retrospective cohort study examining complications in patients undergoing surgery for craniosynostosis using both minimally invasive endoscopic and open approaches. METHODS Over the past 10 years, 295 nonsyndromic patients (140 undergoing endoscopic procedures and 155 undergoing open procedures) and 33 syndromic patients (endoscopic procedures in 10 and open procedures in 23) met the authors’ criteria. Variables analyzed included age at surgery, presence of a preexisting CSF shunt, skin incision method, estimated blood loss, transfusions of packed red blood cells, use of intravenous steroids or tranexamic acid, intraoperative durotomies, procedure length, and length of hospital stay. Complications were classified as either surgically or medically related. RESULTS In the nonsyndromic endoscopic group, the authors experienced 3 (2.1%) surgical and 5 (3.6%) medical complications. In the nonsyndromic open group, there were 2 (1.3%) surgical and 7 (4.5%) medical complications. Intraoperative durotomies occurred in 5 (3.6%) endoscopic and 12 (7.8%) open cases, were repaired primarily, and did not result in reoperations for CSF leakage. Similar complication rates were seen in syndromic cases. There was no death or permanent morbidity. Additionally, endoscopic procedures were associated with significantly decreased estimated blood loss, transfusions, procedure length, and length of hospital stay compared with open procedures. CONCLUSIONS Rates of intraoperative durotomies and surgical and medical complications were comparable between endoscopic and open techniques. This is the largest direct comparison to date between endoscopic and open interventions for synostosis, and the results are in agreement with previous series that endoscopic surgery confers distinct advantages over open surgery in appropriate patient populations.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine if the recent changes in technology, surgical techniques, and surgical literature have influenced practice trends in spinal fusion surgery for pediatric neuromuscular scoliosis (NMS). In this study the authors analyzed recent trends in the surgical management of NMS and investigated the effect of various patient and surgical factors on in-hospital complications, outcomes, and costs, using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. METHODS The NIS was queried from 2002 to 2011 using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification codes to identify pediatric cases (age < 18 years) of spinal fusion for NMS. Several patient, surgical, and short-term outcome factors were included in the analyses. Trend analyses of these factors were conducted. Both univariate and multivariable analyses were used to determine the effect of the various patient and surgical factors on short-term outcomes. RESULTS Between 2002 and 2011, a total of 2154 NMS fusion cases were identified, and the volume of spinal fusion procedures increased 93% from 148 in 2002 to 286 in 2011 (p < 0.0001). The mean patient age was 12.8 ± 3.10 years, and 45.6% of the study population was female. The overall complication rate was 40.1% and the respiratory complication rate was 28.2%. From 2002 to 2011, upward trends (p < 0.0001) were demonstrated in Medicaid insurance status (36.5% to 52.8%), presence of ≥ 1 comorbidity (40.2% to 52.1%), and blood transfusions (25.2% to 57.3%). Utilization of posterior-only fusions (PSFs) increased from 66.2% to 90.2% (p < 0.0001) while combined anterior release/fusions and PSF (AR/PSF) decreased from 33.8% to 9.8% (< 0.0001). Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) underwent increasing utilization from 2009 to 2011 (15.5% to 20.3%, p < 0.0001). The use/harvest of autograft underwent a significant upward trend between 2002 and 2011 (31.3% to 59.8%, p < 0.0001). In univariate analysis, IONM use was associated with decreased complications (40.7% to 33.1%, p = 0.049) and length of stay (LOS; 9.21 to 6.70 days, p <0.0001). Inflation-adjusted mean hospital costs increased nearly 75% from 2002 to 2011 ($36,805 to $65,244, p < 0.0001). In the multivariable analysis, nonwhite race, highest quartile of median household income, greater preexisting comorbidity, long-segment fusions, and use of blood transfusions were found to increase the likelihood of complication occurrence (all p < 0.05). In further multivariable analysis, independent predictors of prolonged LOS included older age, increased preexisting comorbidity, the AR/PSF approach, and long-segment fusions (all p < 0.05). Lastly, the likelihood of increased hospital costs (at or above the 90th percentile for LOS, 14 days) was increased by older age, female sex, Medicaid insurance status, highest quartile of median household income, AR/PSF approach, long-segment fusion, and blood transfusion (all p < 0.05). In multivariable analysis, the use of autograft was associated with a lower likelihood of complication occurrence and prolonged LOS (both p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Increasing use of IONM and posterior-only approaches may combat the high complication rates in NMS. The trends of increasing comorbidities, blood transfusions, and total costs in spinal fusion surgery for pediatric NMS may indicate an increasingly aggressive approach to these cases.

OBJECTIVEMinimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) has been adopted as an alternative technique to hasten recovery and minimize postoperative morbidity. Advances in instrumentation technologies and operative techniques have evolved to maximize patient outcomes as well as radiographic results. The development of expandable interbody devices allows a surgeon to perform MIS-TLIF with minimal tissue disruption. However, sagittal segmental and pelvic radiographic outcomes after MIS-TLIF with expandable interbody devices are not well characterized. The object of this study is to evaluate the radiographic sagittal lumbar segmental and pelvic parameter outcomes of MIS-TLIF performed using an expandable interbody device.METHODSA retrospective review of MIS-TLIFs performed between 2014 and 2016 at a high-volume center was performed. Radiographic measurements were performed on lateral radiographs before and after MIS-TLIF with static or expandable interbody devices. Radiographic measurements included disc height, foraminal height, fused disc angle, lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, sacral slope, and pelvic tilt. Mismatch between pelvic incidence and lumbar lordosis were calculated for each radiograph.RESULTSA total of 48 MIS-TLIFs were performed, predominantly at the L4–5 level, in 44 patients. MIS-TLIF with an expandable interbody device led to a greater and more sustained increase in disc height when compared with static interbody devices. Foraminal height increased after MIS-TLIF with expandable but not with static interbody devices. MIS-TLIF with expandable interbody devices increased index-level segmental lordosis more than with static interbody devices. The increase in segmental lordosis was sustained in the patients with expandable interbody devices but not in patients with static interbody devices. For patients with a collapsed disc space, MIS-TLIF with an expandable interbody device provided superior and longer-lasting increases in disc height, foraminal height, and index-level segmental lordosis than in comparison with patients with static interbody devices. Using an expandable interbody device improved the Oswestry Disability Index scores more than using a static interbody device, and both disc height and segmental lordosis were correlated with improved clinical outcome. Lumbar MIS-TLIF with expandable or static interbody devices had no effect on overall lumbar lordosis, pelvic parameters, or pelvic incidence–lumbar lordosis mismatch.CONCLUSIONSPerforming MIS-TLIF with an expandable interbody device led to a greater and longer-lasting restoration of disc height, foraminal height, and index-level segmental lordosis than MIS-TLIF with a static interbody device, especially for patients with a collapsed disc space. However, neither technique had any effect on radiographic pelvic parameters.

Object Historically, assessment of clinical outcomes following surgical management of Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I) has been challenging due to the lack of a validated instrument for widespread use. The Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS) is a novel system intended to provide a less subjective evaluation of outcomes for patients with CM-I. The goal of this study was to externally validate the performance of the CCOS. Methods Patients undergoing surgery for CM-I between 2001 and 2012 were reviewed (n = 292). Inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: 1) patients receiving primary posterior fossa decompression; 2) at least 5.5 months of postoperative clinical follow-up; and 3) patients ≤ 18 years of age at the time of surgery. Outcomes were evaluated using the CCOS, along with a “gestalt” impression of whether patients experienced significant improvement after surgery. A subgroup of 118 consecutive patients undergoing operations between 2008 and 2010 was selected for analysis of interrater reliability (n = 73 meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria). In this subgroup, gestalt and CCOS scores were independently determined by 2 reviewers, and interrater reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and kappa (κ) statistic. Results The median CCOS score was 14, and 67% of patients had improved gestalt scores after surgery. Overall, the CCOS was effective at identifying patients with improved outcome after surgery (area under curve = 0.951). The interrater reliability of the CCOS (ICC = 0.71) was high, although the reliability of the component scores ranged from poor to good (ICC 0.23–0.89). The functionality subscore demonstrated a low ICC and did not add to the predictive ability of the logistic regression model (likelihood ratio = 1.8, p = 0.18). When analyzing gestalt outcome, there was moderate agreement between raters (κ = 0.56). Conclusions In this external validation study, the CCOS was effective at identifying patients with improved outcomes and proved more reliable than the authors' gestalt impression of outcome. However, certain component subscores (functionality and nonpain symptoms) were found to be less reliable, and may benefit from further definition in score assignment. In particular, the functionality subscore does not add to the predictive ability of the CCOS, and may be unnecessary. Overall, the authors found the CCOS to be an improvement over the previously used assessment of outcome at their institution.

Purpose Chiari Malformation Type I (CM1) is a common and often debilitating neurosurgical disease. Whether to treat CM1 patients with a traditional posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty (PFDD) or a less invasive extradural decompression (PFDO) is controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcome and syrinx resolution between the two procedures. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 36 patients treated with PFDD and 29 patients with PFDO between 2003 and 2011. We compared baseline demographic, clinical, and radiographic characteristics. The primary clinical outcome was the Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS). The primary radiographic outcome was qualitative syrinx improvement or resolution. Results At baseline, age and sex distributions, radiographic characteristics, and presenting symptoms were similar in patients undergoing PFDD and PFDO. Patients undergoing PFDO had shorter surgical time (1.5 vs. 2.8 hours; p < 0.001) and length of hospital stay (2.1 compared to 3.3 days; p < 0.001). Cerebrospinal fluid-related complications were more common in patients receiving PFDD (7/36) than PFDO (0/29) (p=0.014). Clinical improvement, defined by the mean CCOS score, was comparable in patients receiving PFDO (14.7) and PFDD (14.6) (p=0.70). Among patients with postoperative syrinx imaging, 10/13 in the PFDD group improved or resolved, compared to 8/8 in the PFDO group (p=0.26). Conclusions Extradural decompression for CM1 produces comparable rates of clinical and radiographic improvement as the more-invasive decompression with duraplasty. Given the increased morbidity and resource utilization associated with PFDD, PFDO should be considered an attractive first-line option for most CM1 patients.