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Spine Nov 2023Retrospective review of prospectively collected data.
STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective review of prospectively collected data.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the learning curve for percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and demonstrate its efficacy in treating lumbar disc herniation.
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
The learning curve for PTED has not yet been standardized in the literature.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
Consecutive patients who underwent lumbar PTED by a single surgeon between December 2020 and 2022 were included. Cumulative sum analysis was applied to operative and fluoroscopy time to assess the learning curve. Inflection points were used to divide cases into early and late phases. The 2 phases were analyzed for differences in operative and fluoroscopy time, length of stay, complications, and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Patient characteristics and operative levels were also compared. PROMs entailed the Oswestry Disability Index, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, Visual Analog Scale Back/Leg, and 12-item Short Form Survey at preoperative, early postoperative (<6 mo), and late postoperative (≥6 mo) time points. PROMs between PTED cases and a comparable cohort of tubular microdiscectomy cases, performed by the same surgeon, were compared.
RESULTS
Fifty-five patients were included. Cumulative sum analysis indicated that both operative and fluoroscopy time diminished rapidly after case 31, suggesting a learning curve of 31 cases (early phase: n = 31; late phase: n = 24). Late-phase cases exhibited significantly lower operative times (85.7 vs . 62.2 min, P = 0.001) and fluoroscopy times (131.0 vs . 97.2 s, P = 0.001) compared with the early-phase cases. Both early and late-phase cases showed significant improvement in all PROMs. There were no differences in PROMs between the patients who underwent PTED and tubular microdiscectomy.
CONCLUSION
The PTED learning curve was found to be 31 cases and did not impact PROMs or complication rates. Although this learning curve reflects the experiences of a single surgeon and may not be broadly applicable, PTED can serve as an effective modality for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.
Topics: Humans; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Learning Curve; Treatment Outcome; Lumbar Vertebrae; Endoscopy; Diskectomy, Percutaneous; Diskectomy; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 37235810
DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000004730 -
Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE Jan 2024Thoracic disc herniations are a degenerative pathology of the thoracic spine wherein a portion of nucleus pulposis herniates into the epidural space, potentially causing... (Review)
Review
Thoracic disc herniations are a degenerative pathology of the thoracic spine wherein a portion of nucleus pulposis herniates into the epidural space, potentially causing spinal cord or nerve root compression. Traditional surgical treatment for patients with thoracic disc herniations requires relatively invasive anterior or posterolateral approaches that involve extensive muscular dissection and removal of bone in order to access and remove the disc herniation without causing undue compression of the spinal cord. Full endoscopic thoracic discectomy is a minimally invasive technique which allows for the resection of thoracic disc herniations through a small (1 cm) incision, minimizing collateral tissue trauma and obviating the need for the extensive muscle dissection and bony removal required for traditional surgical approaches. In this article, we describe in detail the operative technique for full endoscopic thoracic discectomy and discuss the pearls and pitfalls of the technique. We also provide a review of the outcomes and complications as seen in the literature.
Topics: Humans; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Diskectomy; Endoscopy; Lumbar Vertebrae; Spinal Cord; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 38284530
DOI: 10.3791/65951 -
World Neurosurgery Oct 2023There are no systematic evidence-based medical data on the complications of endoscopic cervical spinal surgery. This narrative analysis compiled data from various... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
There are no systematic evidence-based medical data on the complications of endoscopic cervical spinal surgery. This narrative analysis compiled data from various studies that examined endoscopic complications, such as cervical disc herniation and foraminal stenosis. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic surgery in cervical radiculopathy.
METHODS
We searched the PubMed/MEDLINE databases to identify articles on endoscopic spinal surgery, and keywords were set as "endoscopic cervical spinal surgery", "endoscopic cervical discectomy", "endoscopic cervical foraminotomy", and "percutaneous endoscopic cervical discectomy". We analyzed the evidence level and classified the prescribed complications according to the literature. Endoscopic cervical surgery was divided into three categories: full endoscopic anterior, endoscopic posterior, and unilateral biportal approaches. We excluded duplicate publications, studies without full text, studies without complications or incomplete information, and studies that did not provide the necessary data for extraction, animal experiments, or reviews.
RESULTS
Difficulties in swallowing, hematoma, and hoarseness are common complications associated with the anterior cervical approach. In contrast, complications of the posterior approach include nerve root injury, hematoma, and dysesthesia. However, endoscopic cervical spinal surgery, including the full endoscopic anterior, posterior, and unilateral biportal approaches, is a safe and effective treatment for cervical radiculopathy.
CONCLUSIONS
Complications of full endoscopic cervical spinal surgery differ significantly depending on the anterior and posterior approaches. In the anterior approach, swallowing difficulty, recurrent disc, hematoma, and dysphonia are the common complications. In contrast, transient dysesthesia, dural tears, upper limb motor deficits, and persistent arm pain are commonly reported with the posterior approach.
Topics: Humans; Radiculopathy; Paresthesia; Cervical Vertebrae; Endoscopy; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Diskectomy; Hematoma; Treatment Outcome; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 37479028
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2023.07.058 -
AORN Journal Dec 2023
Topics: Humans; Outpatients; Spine; Diskectomy; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 38011061
DOI: 10.1002/aorn.14044 -
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.... Aug 2023The uncovertebral joint is a potential region for anterior cervical fusion. Currently, we are aware of no clinical trials on human uncovertebral joint fusion (UJF). The... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
The uncovertebral joint is a potential region for anterior cervical fusion. Currently, we are aware of no clinical trials on human uncovertebral joint fusion (UJF). The purpose of this study was to compare the time it took to achieve osseous union/fusion and the clinical efficacy of UJF to end plate space fusion (ESF)-i.e., traditional anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)-in anterior cervical surgery.
METHODS
Patients with single-level cervical spondylosis were recruited from April 2021 through October 2022 and randomly divided into the UJF and ESF groups, with 40 patients in each group. Autologous iliac bone was used for bone grafting in both groups. The primary outcome was the early fusion rate at 3 months postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included the prevalence of complications and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), including the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI), and visual analog scale (VAS) scores for arm and neck pain.
RESULTS
A total of 74 patients (92.5%) with an average age of 49.8 years (range, 26 to 65 years) completed the trial and were included in the analysis. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups at baseline. The operative duration and intraoperative blood loss were also comparable between the 2 groups. The fusion rate in the UJF group was significantly higher than that in the ESF group at 3 months (66.7% compared with 13.2%, p < 0.0001) and 6 months (94.1% compared with 66.7%, p = 0.006) after the operation. No significant difference was found in the fusion rate between the 2 groups 12 months postoperatively. Overall, the PROMs significantly improved after surgery in both groups and did not differ significantly between the groups at any follow-up time point. The prevalence of complications was not significantly different between the 2 groups.
CONCLUSIONS
In our study of anterior cervical fusion surgery, we found that the early fusion rate after UJF was significantly higher than that after ESF.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Therapeutic Level I . See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Topics: Humans; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Cervical Vertebrae; Diskectomy; Treatment Outcome; Spinal Fusion; Retrospective Studies; Follow-Up Studies
PubMed: 37228228
DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.22.01375 -
Clinical Spine Surgery Nov 2023A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Mid-term and Long-term Outcomes After Total Cervical Disk Arthroplasty Compared With Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
STUDY DESIGN
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare mid-term to long-term outcomes of cervical disk arthroplasty (CDA) with those of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the treatment of symptomatic cervical degenerative disk disease.
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
After ACDF to treat symptomatic cervical degenerative disk disease, the loss of motion at the index level due to fusion may accelerate adjacent-level disk degeneration. CDA was developed to preserve motion and reduce the risk of adjacent segment degeneration. Early-term to mid-term clinical outcomes from RCTs suggest noninferiority of CDA compared with ACDF, but it remains unclear whether CDA yields better mid-term to long-term outcomes than ACDF.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two independent reviewers searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for RCTs with at least 60 months of follow-up. The risk ratio or standardized mean difference (and 95% CIs) were calculated for dichotomous or continuous variables, respectively.
RESULTS
Eighteen reports of 14 RCTs published in 2014-2023 were included. The pooled analysis demonstrated that the CDA group had a significantly greater improvement in neurological success and Neck Disability Index than the ACDF group. The ACDF group exhibited a significantly better improvement in the Short Form-36 Health Survey Physical Component Summary than the CDA group. Radiographic adjacent segment degeneration was significantly lower in the CDA group at 60- and 84-month follow-ups; at 120-month follow-up, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Although the overall rate of secondary surgical procedures was significantly lower in the CDA group, we did not observe any significant difference at 60-month follow-up between the CDA and ACDF group and appreciated statistically significant lower rates of radiographic adjacent segment degeneration, and symptomatic adjacent-level disease requiring surgery at 84-month and 108- to 120-month follow-up. The rate of adverse events and the neck and arm pain scores in the CDA group were not significantly different from those of the ACDF group.
CONCLUSIONS
In this meta-analysis of 14 RCTs with 5- to 10-year follow-up data, CDA resulted in significantly better neurological success and Neck Disability Index scores and lower rates of radiographic adjacent segment degeneration, secondary surgical procedures, and symptomatic adjacent-level disease requiring surgery than ACDF. ACDF resulted in improved Short Form-36 Health Survey Physical Component Summary scores. However, the CDA and ACDF groups did not exhibit significant differences in overall changes in neck and arm pain scores or rates of adverse events.
Topics: Humans; Spinal Fusion; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration; Diskectomy; Cervical Vertebrae; Pain; Arthroplasty; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37735768
DOI: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000001537 -
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders Oct 2023Low back pain is a widely prevalent symptom and the foremost cause of disability on a global scale. Although various degenerative imaging findings observed on magnetic...
BACKGROUND
Low back pain is a widely prevalent symptom and the foremost cause of disability on a global scale. Although various degenerative imaging findings observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been linked to low back pain and disc herniation, none of them can be considered pathognomonic for this condition, given the high prevalence of abnormal findings in asymptomatic individuals. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge regarding whether radiomics features in MRI images combined with clinical features can be useful for prediction modeling of treatment success. The objective of this study was to explore the potential of radiomics feature analysis combined with clinical features and artificial intelligence-based techniques (machine learning/deep learning) in identifying MRI predictors for the prediction of outcomes after lumbar disc herniation surgery.
METHODS
We included n = 172 patients who underwent discectomy due to disc herniation with preoperative T2-weighted MRI examinations. Extracted clinical features included sex, age, alcohol and nicotine consumption, insurance type, hospital length of stay (LOS), complications, operation time, ASA score, preoperative CRP, surgical technique (microsurgical versus full-endoscopic), and information regarding the experience of the performing surgeon (years of experience with the surgical technique and the number of surgeries performed at the time of surgery). The present study employed a semiautomatic region-growing volumetric segmentation algorithm to segment herniated discs. In addition, 3D-radiomics features, which characterize phenotypic differences based on intensity, shape, and texture, were extracted from the computed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. Selected features identified by feature importance analyses were utilized for both machine learning and deep learning models (n = 17 models).
RESULTS
The mean accuracy over all models for training and testing in the combined feature set was 93.31 ± 4.96 and 88.17 ± 2.58. The mean accuracy for training and testing in the clinical feature set was 91.28 ± 4.56 and 87.69 ± 3.62.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest a minimal but detectable improvement in predictive tasks when radiomics features are included. However, the extent of this advantage should be considered with caution, emphasizing the potential of exploring multimodal data inputs in future predictive modeling.
Topics: Humans; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Low Back Pain; Artificial Intelligence; Treatment Outcome; Diskectomy; Lumbar Vertebrae; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 37803313
DOI: 10.1186/s12891-023-06911-y -
World Neurosurgery Dec 2023Herniated thoracic disk has an incidence of 1/1 million. Treatment options for a calcified herniated disk include conservative management or diskectomy with or without...
Herniated thoracic disk has an incidence of 1/1 million. Treatment options for a calcified herniated disk include conservative management or diskectomy with or without fusion. We describe a patient who presented a year ago with a 5-month history of back pain, thoracic radiculopathy, and normal physical examination. Imaging revealed a giant calcified herniated thoracic disk at T10-T11. She underwent epidural steroid injections and chiropractic manipulation. Imaging obtained at 1-year follow-up showed near-complete resorption of the calcified thoracic disk.
Topics: Female; Humans; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Back Pain; Diskectomy; Radiculopathy; Thoracic Vertebrae
PubMed: 37778626
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2023.09.102 -
European Archives of... Nov 2023The goal is to conduct a review of the current literature to determine and evaluate the current classification metrics available for quantifying post-operative dysphagia. (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
The goal is to conduct a review of the current literature to determine and evaluate the current classification metrics available for quantifying post-operative dysphagia.
METHODS
We surveyed the literature for the subjective and objective measures used to classify dysphagia, and further described and analyzed them in the context of post-operative dysphagia (PD) after anterior cervical spine surgery, with a focus on anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). We searched PubMed from the years 2005-2021 using the terms "anterior cervical discectomy and fusion" and "dysphagia or postoperative dysphagia." We included papers that were meta-analyses, systemic reviews, prospective, or retrospective studies. Our selection was further consolidated via abstract and title screening. Ultimately, nineteen articles were included and had full-text reviews.
RESULTS
EAT-10 tool was shown to be more valid and reliable than the commonly used Bazaz grading system. HSS-DDI was found to have a high diagnostic accuracy in stratifying mild, moderate, and severe PD. A shortened 16-item version of the original 44-item SWAL-QOL was found to be statistically and clinically significant. When compared to PROMs, objective tests more accurately diagnose PD.
CONCLUSION
We found that the most valuable subjective tests were the EAT-10 and HSS-DI because they are quick, sensitive, and correlated strongly with the well-established measurements of PD. The MBS and FEES provided accurate measurements of the severity of PD, but they required more time and equipment than the surveys. In some patient populations, such as those with pre-surgical dysphagia, objective testing should always be done.
Topics: Humans; Deglutition Disorders; Retrospective Studies; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Postoperative Complications; Spinal Fusion; Cervical Vertebrae; Diskectomy; Patient Reported Outcome Measures; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37592082
DOI: 10.1007/s00405-023-08167-7 -
Clinical Spine Surgery Nov 2023The widespread success of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has led to an interest in expanding indications beyond those outlined in the initial Food and Drug... (Review)
Review
The widespread success of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has led to an interest in expanding indications beyond those outlined in the initial Food and Drug Administration investigational device exemption studies. Some of these off-label indications currently include 3-level and 4-level CDA, hybrid constructs with adjacent segment anterior cervical discectomy and fusion or corpectomy constructs, pre-existing kyphosis, revision of a failed anterior cervical discectomy and fusion to a CDA, CDA in the setting of significant degenerative disc disease and/or facet joint arthropathy, CDA for congenital cervical stenosis, and CDA in the presence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. This review article will summarize the current literature pertaining to the aforementioned indications.
Topics: Humans; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration; Cervical Vertebrae; Spinal Fusion; Neck; Diskectomy; Arthroplasty; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37691166
DOI: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000001525