No abstract

According to the literature, most Modic 1 lesions change to become Stage 2 lesions in 18 to 24 months. In this study, 17 patients with Modic Type 1 signal had changes after 6 months. It appears that posterior osteosynthesis combined with posterolateral arthrodesis accelerates the course of Modic 1 lesions, probably by correcting mechanical instability.

The authors retrospectively reviewed a series of 18 hard thoracic herniated discs (HTHD) operated by thoracoscopy. Isolated cases of HTHD have been reported in the literature, but no series describing these lesions has been published. Seventy-two percent of the herniated discs were situated between T8 and T12. Fifty-six percent of the patients had radiographic sequelae of Scheuermann's disease. Postoperatively, 83% had neurological improvement. In seven cases (39%), a plane separating the herniated disc and the dura mater was found surgically. In 11 patients, no separating plane was found during surgery. The lesion was intradural in three patients (17%) and adherent to the dura mater in eight (44%). Among these 11 patients, surgery was complicated by a dural tear in the first seven that led to a high risk of cerebrospinal fluid fistula: four of these seven patients had required surgical revision. In the last four, the zone of adhesion of the HTHD to the dura mater was preserved, successfully preventing dural tear Keywords Calcified thoracic disc herniation AE MRI AE Scheuermann AE Thoracic spine AE Thoracoscopy Eur Spine J (2006) 15: 537-542

Study Design. Six spinal solitary osteochondromas.Objectives. To evaluate the course of spinal cord compression after surgery, and the risk of local recurrence and malignant transformation, based on the present series and cases reported in the literature.Summary of Background Data. Spinal cord compression by a solitary osteochondroma is rare. Little is known concerning neurologic improvement after decompression of the spinal cord or the risk of recurrence or malignant transformation of spinal solitary osteochondroma, because most of the cases reported are isolated.Methods. Clinical history, plain radiographs, pathologic features, computed tomographic studies, and magnetic resonance imaging were reviewed. Five patients underwent long-term follow-up physical examination and computed tomography for an average of 6 years (range, 2-12 years) after surgical treatment. The literature was reviewed for solitary osteochondroma with spinal cord compromise, recurrent solitary osteochondroma, or solitary osteochondroma in the process of sarcomatous transformation.Results. In the present study, two of the six patients experienced spinal cord compromise. Neurologic deficits improved after surgery. None of the patients had local recurrence or malignant transformation at follow-up observation. Including these two patients, the authors found 62 cases of solitary osteochondroma with spinal cord compromise in the literature. Overall, three patients died, eight did not improve, and 48 (81%) experienced regression of the neurologic deficit after surgical decompression. Among the 150 cases of solitary osteochondroma the authors found in the literature, there were six cases (4%) of local recurrence and four cases (2.7%) of malignant transformation.Conclusions. Surgical treatment improves neurologic deficit in more than 80% of cases of spinal cord compromise caused by solitary osteochondroma. The risk of recurrence or sarcomatous transformation justifies clinical and radiologic follow-up review.

Erector spinae muscle alterations mainly occur distal to posterior lumbar surgical procedures.

Level IV - retrospective study.

We observed some differences concerning the safe working zone in comparison with other cadaveric studies. The small number of cadaveric specimens used in anatomical studies probably explains theses differences. The minimally invasive transpsoas lateral approach was initially developed to reduce the complications associated with the traditional procedure. The anatomical relationships between the lumbar plexus and the intervertebral disc make this technique particularly risky a L4L5. Alternative techniques, such as transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF), posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) or anterior interbody fusion (ALIF) should be used at this level.

Predominance of high PI and female gender was emphasized in DS population. Moreover, these findings highlighted the importance of sagittal alignment analysis in DS with 24 % of patients with anterior malalignment and in the remaining 76 % (normal C7Tilt), more than 50 % had pelvic retroversion. Consequently, DS sagittal malalignment should lead to specific surgical correction adapted to each subgroup of patients.