We report our early clinical experience with percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) for herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) in the lumbar spine. We introduced PELD to our clinical practice in June 2009. A total of 311 patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease were treated in our hospital up to August 2011. Thirty-seven patients with lumbar HNP were treated by PELD. PELD was carried out under local anesthesia, and the endoscope was continuously irrigated with saline. Twenty-eight patients were treated through the transforaminal approach, 5 were treated through the interlaminar approach, and 4 were treated through the extraforaminal approach. Surgery was discontinued due to uncontrollable intraoperative pain or anatomical inaccessibility in one case of the interlaminar approach and 2 cases of the extraforaminal approach. In the other 34 patients, the elapsed time of surgery was 34 to 103 minutes (mean 62.4 minutes). Extracorporeal blood loss was insignificant. Immediate symptom relief was achieved in all patients, and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed sufficient removal of the HNP. The length of the postoperative hospital stay was 1 or 2 days in all patients. The surgical method of PELD is completely different from percutaneous nucleotomy, and the aim is to directly remove the HNP with minimum damage to the musculoskeletal structure. Although this study is based on our early clinical outcomes, PELD seemed to be a promising minimally invasive surgery for HNP in the lumbar spine.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Only a few reports on intramedullary tumors of the spinal cord using PET have been published. We report findings of PET by using [18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose and [ 11 C] methionine and discuss the usefulness of the findings in patients with intramed-
A 4-year-old girl presented with asymptomatic bowel perforation and transanal protrusion of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt catheter. She had undergone repair of myelomeningocele at birth and subsequent VP shunting for congenital hydrocephalus 1 month later. Seven months after VP shunting, she underwent revision of the peritoneal catheter. She complained of abdominal pain and nausea at the age of 4 years. She was treated conservatively for 1 month for intestinal obstruction. One month later, her mother noticed the shunt catheter protruding from her anus. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen revealed that the peritoneal catheter had migrated into the colon, and CT of the head showed symmetrical dilation of the ventricles. The shunt system was removed immediately, repair of the fistula in the sigmoid colon was performed, and external ventricular drainage was continued for 6 weeks until shunt replacement. One month after the first operation, intestinal obstruction recurred. Duplication of the terminal ileum was removed to prevent further recurrence of the intestinal obstruction. She underwent ventriculoatrial shunting 2 weeks after the second operation and was discharged without neurological sequelae.
Objective:The authors present a novel method of the recapping hemilaminoplasty in a retrospective study of patients with spinal surgical disorders. This report describes the surgical technique and the results of hemilaminoplasty using an ultrasonic bone curette. The aim of this study was to examine the safety and effectiveness of the hemilaminoplasty technique with ultrasonic bone curette.Methods:Between April 2003 and July 2011, 33 patients with various spinal diseases (17 spinal tumors, 5 dural arteriovenous fistulas, 3 syringomyelia, 2 sacral perineural cysts, and 2 arachnoid cysts) were treated microsurgically by using an ultrasonic bone curette with scalpel blade and lightweight handpiece. The ultrasonic bone curette was used for division of lamina. After resection of the lesion, the excised lamina was replaced exactly in situ to its original anatomic position with a titanium plate and screw. Additional fusion technique was not required and the device was easy to handle. All patients were observed both neurologically and radiologically by dynamic plain radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scan.Results:The operation was performed successfully and there were no instrument-related complications such as dural laceration, nerve root injury, and vessels injury. The mean number of resected and restored lamina was 1.7. CT confirmed primary bone fusion in all patients by 12 months after surgery.Conclusion:The ultrasonic bone curette is a useful instrument for recapping hemilaminoplasty in various spinal surgeries. This method allows anatomical reconstruction of the excised bone to preserve the posterior surrounding tissues.
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