Symptomatic RF occurred in 6.8% of adult spinal deformity cases and in 15.8% of PSO patients. The rate of RF was lower with cobalt chromium than with titanium alloy or stainless steel. Early failure was most common after PSO and favored the PSO site, suggesting that RF may be caused by stress at the PSO site. Postoperative sagittal malalignment may increase the risk of RF.

This proposed anatomically based classification system provides a consistent description of the various osteotomies performed in spinal deformity correction surgery. The reliability study confirmed that the classification is simple and consistent. Further development of its use will provide a common frame for osteotomy assessment and permit comparative analysis of different treatments.

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The pelvic tilt is an essential measure in the context of radiographic evaluation of spinal deformity and malalignment. Given the routinely excellent visibility of coronal films this study established the SFP as a coronal parameter which can reliably estimate pelvic tilt. The high correlation and predictive ability of the SFP angle should prompt further study and clinical application when lateral radiographs do not permit assessment of pelvic parameters.

This proposed anatomically based classification system provides a consistent description of the various osteotomies performed in spinal deformity correction surgery. The reliability study confirmed that the classification is simple and consistent. Further development of its use will provide a common frame for osteotomy assessment and permit comparative analysis of different treatments.

Management of spinal metastasis is still controversial and must take into account various parameters. The aim of this study is to report the technical feasibility of a less invasive anterior cervical balloon kyphoplasty for vertebral body reinforcement. Six consecutive patients with an osteolytic cervical metastasis, without neurologic compromise, and for whom a curative treatment was not indicated, were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent balloon kyphoplasty through a small anterolateral cervicotomy. Evaluation of the technique outcomes was clinical and radiologic with a systematic CT-scan. During the follow-up period (6 months average), neurologic examination was normal in all cases with reduced cervical pain and without reported loss of motion of the cervical spine. A cement leakage was noticed in two cases without clinical consequences. This less invasive procedure was feasible and provided satisfactory preliminary results. It can therefore be a valuable alternative in selected cases where a curative treatment is not indicated.

Purpose Non-fusion treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis generates interest due to the potential for growth preservation and mobility. Using an established porcine scoliotic model, this study aims to evaluate the global alignment and the morphology of the spine with and without application of a non-fusion corrective tether. Methods At 12 weeks of age, 21 immature Yorkshire pigs had an induction of scoliosis. Once a 50°Cobb angle was obtained; animals were placed into one of the following groups: a scoliosis model group (SM, n = 11) where animals were euthanized, tether release group (TR, n = 5) where the inducing tether was removed, and an anterior correction group (AC, n = 5) where the inducing tether was removed and non-fusion corrective tether was applied. TR and AC were observed for a further 20 weeks and then euthanized. Post-mortem CT scans were used to create 3D spinal reconstructions to obtain global and morphologic parameters. Results Maximal Cobb angle of the scoliotic deformity was significantly lower for AC (27.9°± 12.0°) than for the two other groups (TR 52.7°± 10.0°, SM 48.3°± 7.6°). AC experienced an increase in kyphosis (24.2°± 15.9°) compared to TR (7.1°± 6.4°). Correction in the axial plane was also observed in AC versus TR. Correction of vertebral wedging was found for AC compared to SM and TR in the three apical vertebrae.Conclusions 3D realignment of scoliotic curves was observed with application of the corrective tether. The correction was the product of both mechanical action and growth modulation. These findings are encouraging for future development of a non-fusion device for the treatment of immature scoliotic curves.

Previous research found that auditory training helps native English speakers to perceive phonemic vowel length distinction in Japanese, but that their performance has never reached native levels (Hirata et al., 2007). Given that multimodal information, such as hand gesture and lip movements, influences semantic aspects of language processing and development (Kelly et al., 2002), we examined whether this multimodal information helps to improve native English speakers' ability to perceive Japanese vowel length distinction. Forty-five native English speakers participated in one of three types of training: (1) audio alone; (2) audio with hand gestures; and (3) audio with lip movements and hand gestures. Before and after training, participants were given phoneme perception tests that measured their ability to distinguish between short and long vowels in Japanese, e.g., /kato/ versus /kato:/. Our original prediction was that more modalities in training would result in greater learning. Although all three groups improved from pre- to post-test, there were no significant differences among the three training groups. Unlike the original prediction, hand gestures and lip movements did not seem to augment learning of difficult sound distinctions. We will discuss possible benefits and limitations of using multimodal information in second language speech learning.