Surgery in late stage ankylosing spondylitis (AS) most often tends to correct the sagittal balance with an extension osteotomy of the spine. In the literature, extension osteotomy was first described as an open wedge osteotomy but recently closed wedge osteotomy resecting the pedicles and posterior elements have become more popular. Only a limited number of cases have been reported in the literature and with limited focus on outcome of this major surgery. In this study, we reported the results of a large series of extension osteotomy in a population of patients with AS focusing on the technical aspects, complication rates, correction obtained and outcome evaluation using newer spine outcome measuring instruments. In the period from 1995 to 2005, 36 consecutive patients fulfilled the criteria where the files, radiographs and patients were available for further studies. The following data were recorded: Age, sex, comorbidity, indication, operation time and blood loss, level of osteotomy and estimated Correction. Furthermore, perioperative complications and all late complications were registered. The average follow-up was 50 months (3-128). Twenty-one patients also filled out questionnaires (SF36 and Oswestry Disability Index) preoperatively. At the end of the period all patients were contacted and filled out the same questionnaires. Fifteen of the patients had two pedicular resection osteotomies performed, 21 had one, and two had polysegmental osteotomies. Mean operation time was 180 min, bleeding was mean 2,450 ml, stay at the hospital was 13 days. One patient had partial paresis of the lower extremities all other complications were minor. The median correction was 45 degrees . The median Oswestry score improved significantly from 54 (range 20-94) preoperatively to 38 (range 2-94) postoperatively. The SF-36 score significantly increased, when evaluated on the major components Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS). The thoracolumbar closed wedge pedicular resection osteotomy used in this series was a safe method for correction of incapacitating kyphosis in AS. There was an acceptable rate of perioperative complications and no mortality. The correction obtained was in average 45 degrees . All of the patients except one maintained their good correction and restored function. Outcome analysis showed a significant improvement in SF-36 and Oswestry Disability Index, and the mental component of the SF-36 showed improvement to values near the normative population. It is concluded that corrective osteotomy of the thoracolumbar spine in AS is an effective and safe treatment with improvements in quality of life.

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BackgroundThe study was performed to qualify the source material of 4 151 pelvic radiographs for the research into the relationship between unrecognised childhood hip disorders and the development of hip osteoarthrosis, and to investigate the effect of varying degrees of pelvic tilt and rotation on the measurements of radiographic indices of hip dysplasia.Material and methods We investigated the effect of varying pelvic orientation on radiographic measurements of acetabular dysplasia using a cadaver model. Results from the cadaver study were used to validate the radiographic assessments of acetabular dysplasia in the longitudinal survey cohort of the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS; Osteoarthrosis Sub-study). 1) Cadaver pelvises and proximal femurs from a male and a female donor were mounted anatomically in holding devices allowing independent inclination/reclination and rotation. An AP pelvic radiograph was recorded at each 3° increment. The most widely used radiographic parameters of hip dysplasia were assessed. 2) Critical limits of acceptable rotation and inclination/reclination of pelvises were determined on 4 151 standing, standardised pelvic radiographs of the CCHS cohort.Results Wiberg's CE angle, Sharp's angle, the xcoordinate of Goodman's Cartesian coordinate system, and the acetabular depth ratio were significantly affected by varying rotation and inclination/reclination of the cadaver pelvises. Femoral head extrusion index was not significantly affected within the applied rotation and inclination/reclination of the cadaver study. Application of the corresponding critical limits of Tönnis' foramen obturator index of 0.7-1.8 meant that 188 of

The intra-osseous pressure, P02, and PCO2 were measured in 32 hips (21 patients) which were painful but showed no severe degenerative changes. Pre-operative scintigraphy and radiography was performed in all patients. Thirteen hips showed early osteoarthritis, eight had early osteonecrosis, and 11 had no changes. Core biopsies were performed and the bone was examined histologically and graded for necrosis.

Serum concentrations of Gc-globulin were significantly low in trauma patients. The reduction took place within 60 mins after injury. Because the normal half-life of Gc-globulin is almost 48 hrs, our observations suggest a marked consumption of Gc-globulin immediately after the trauma. This finding could be the first clinical evidence that Gc-globulin plays a role in the systemic inflammatory response syndrome after trauma. This result is supported by the finding that lack of Gc-globulin was related to nonsurvival and the severity of the trauma.

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Severe injury results in a prolonged load on the extracellular actin scavenger system; more pronounced in patients who do not survive. Gc-globulin displays characteristics of an acute phase reactant, with supra-normal serum levels 1 week after severe injury. Serial measurements of Gc-globulin after trauma could prove to be a method of early identification of patients with increased risk of mortality.

The Short Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36) measures general health and well-being. Within the last 5 years it has been used increasingly to characterise patients in the medical literature. Relatively few studies have used the SF-36 on patients with chronic low back pain undergoing preoperative evaluation, but results suggest that it may be predictive of surgical outcome. Pain drawings are a routine part of evaluation prior to spinal surgery in several centres, since their classification of organic or nonorganic has been shown in some studies to correlate well with psychological characteristics predicting poor outcome. The purpose of the present study was to assess possible correlations between nonorganic pain drawings and the psychological scales in the SF-36. We included 128 patients in the study, all of them referred from other hospitals. Previous spinal surgery had been undergone by 25%, and 59% required daily medication because of low back pain. All patients completed pain drawings using predefined symbols These pain drawings were scored dichotomously as organic or nonorganic based on a brief description of a typical nonorganic characteristics. Patients also completed the Danish version of the SF-36 questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis. The pain drawing classification was used as the dependent variable and scores on the eight scales of the SF-36 as independent variables. P values of <0.05 were considered significant. The mean scores of the patient population on all eight scales were significantly lower than Danish norms. The only scales that correlated with the presence of nonorganic pain drawings were emotional role (RE) and mental health (MH), both measuring psychological health. The odds ratio (OR) of receiving a nonorganic pain drawing was 22 (95% confidence interval, or CI, 7-65) if the scores on RE and MH were more than 2 standard deviations (SD) below the Danish norm. This is the first study providing evidence that pain drawing ratings are influenced by the psychological scales of the SF-36. The clinical relevance of this observation regarding prediction of outcome after spinal surgery should be assessed in future studies.