Journal of Spine Surgery (Hong Kong)

Late onset neurological deficit is a rare complication of spinal tuberculosis. Reactivation of the disease and compression by internal gibbus are the common causes for late onset neurological deficit. We report a rare cause of late onset paraplegia in a patient with post tubercular kyphotic deformity. The late onset neurological deficit was due to the adjacent segment degeneration proximal to the kyphotic deformity. Posterior hypertrophied ligamentum flavum and anterior disc osteophyte complex caused the cord compression...

Gibbus deformities are characterized by anterior collapse of one or more vertebral bodies resulting in kyphosis. These deformities usually arise from spinal infections, and are traditionally associated with tuberculosis; other pathogens are rarely reported in the literature. In this case report, the authors describe a patient with a sharp, angulated Gibbus deformity presenting with back pain and myelopathy. The patient was placed on antibiotics, underwent T11-T12 corpectomy, placement of an expandable cage, and T8-L3 fusion with improvement of symptoms...

Achieving lumbosacral fusion through spinopelvic fixation is an important and challenging aspect of spinal deformity surgery. Numerous instrumentation techniques are available, with iliac screws and S2-alar-iliac (SRAI) screws being most commonly used today. However, the increasing popularity of minimally invasive sacroiliac (SI) fusion as a common procedure performed for SI joint pain presents a distinct challenge in complex adult deformity cases requiring iliac screw fixation. We report a case of a 71-year-old female with a longstanding history of spinal deformity status-post T11-L5 fusion and a subsequent right-sided SI joint fusion who presented with sagittal imbalance...

Ependymomas are neuroectodermal tumours arising from the ependymal lining of the ventricles and central canal of the spinal cord. Intradural extramedullary (IDEM) ependymomas which are multifocal, and/or anaplastic (WHO grade III) at presentation are exceedingly rare. We present the second case of multifocal anaplastic IDEM ependymoma in the literature. A 47-year old female presented with left gluteal and thigh pain radiating to the groin associated with paraesthesiae. She had a normal neurological examination...

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) (Forestier syndrome) is a rheumatologic disease, the etiology of which is not exactly known. It is characterized by spinal osteophyte formations resulting from the ossification of the paravertebral ligaments and muscles. Anterior longitudinal ligament is the usual site of involvement and the frequency of the disease increases after the 5th decade. Lower cervical segments are the most frequently involved regions whereas the upper cervical involvement leading to dysphagia is very rare...

Spinal subdural hematoma (SSDH) as a complication of posterior fossa surgery is extremely rare and can have potentially serious consequences. We report a case of delayed extensive SSHD presenting as cauda equina syndrome (CES) following foramen magnum decompression and occipito-cervical (OC) fusion.

A glomangioma, also known as a glomus tumor, is a benign lesion and had rare occurrence of spine region. In this study, we presented a spinal glomus tumor with an unusual radiological presentation, which is different from osteolytic intraosseous patterns illustrated before. A 26-year-old male with compressive myelopathy caused by epidural intraspinal lesion over T11 level. Radiological presentation revealed reactive sclerotic change over the body and lamina was found on the same level in computed tomography (CT) examination...

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare type of malignant soft tissue tumor and also one of the most aggressive soft tissue sarcomas. It commonly occurs in uterus, abdominal viscera, retroperitoneal space and soft tissue of the extremities. Primary osseous leiomyosarcoma is a rare condition. Furthermore, primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine is extremely rare. Only few cases have been reported. However, the treatment and outcomes remains controversial. Therefore, the objective of this case report is to illustrate the management of this extremely rare disease by using total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) procedure, which is one of a suitable option for surgical resection of the spinal tumors...

This submission presents a case of scoliosis in a patient with established Dandy-Walker anomaly of the brain. A retrospective review of the patient's case notes was undertaken and the limited literature on this subject reviewed. The 13-year-old girl presented with a stiff right thoracic scoliosis typical of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The scoliotic segment also presented with significant lordosis. She had facial and truncal dysmorphism characteristic of Dandy-Walker complex and her brain images confirmed the diagnosis...

Myxopapillary ependymoma is a rare tumour of the central nervous system (CNS); this subtype of ependymoma occurs most frequently in cauda equina, conus medullaris or filum terminale. The treatment consists of complete removal of the tumour including its capsule when possible since it is usually a solitary lesion. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the CNS is found in only 1.3% of cauda equina tumours. We report the case of a 62-year-old man who presented to our institution with progressive weakness of his right lower extremity, with numbness and paresthesia of both feet...

In recent decades cervical arthroplasty, or cervical disc replacement, has been steadily increasing in popularity as a procedure for the treatment of degenerative pathologies of the cervical spine. This is based on an evolving body of literature that documents superior outcomes in cervical disc replacement over fusion, for both single and double level pathologies, in well selected patients. One of the more recent and popular implants currently on the market is the Mobi-C cervical artificial disc (LDR Medical; Troyes, France)...

Spondylolysis is frequently seen in adolescents, typically at the L5 vertebral level. While there may be a congenital predisposition for spondylolysis, it has long been suggested that the defect results from a fatigue or stress fracture of the pars interarticularis. Spondylolisthesis may result from a bilateral spondylolytic defect and is frequently asymptomatic. There is a paucity of literature on infant and toddler spondylolysis, as the focus is primarily on school-aged children, typically those over ten years of age...

Fusion of the lumbosacral spine is a common surgical procedure to address a range of spinal pathologies. Fixation in lumbar fusion has traditionally been performed using pedicle screw (PS) augmentation. However, an alternative method of screw insertion via cortical bone trajectory (CBT) has been advocated as a less invasive approach which improves initial fixation and reduces neurovascular injury. There is a paucity of robust clinical evidence to support these claims, particularly in comparison to traditional pedicle screws...

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a kind of heritable connective tissue disorder, including blue sclerae, hearing loss, skeletal dysplasia causing bone fragility and deformities. It is typically caused by collagen related gene mutations, which could lead to bone formation abnormalities. Scoliosis is one of the most common and severe spinal phenotype which has been reported in approximately 26-74.5% of all OI patients. Recent breakthroughs have suggested that OI can be divided into more than 16 types based on genetic mutations with different degrees of scoliosis...

Several guidance techniques have been employed to increase accuracy and reduce surgical time during percutaneous placement of pedicle screws (PS). The purpose of our study was to present a modified technique for percutaneous placement of lumbar PS that reduces surgical time. We reviewed 23 cases of percutaneous PS placement using our technique for minimally invasive lumbar surgeries and 24 control cases where lumbar PS placement was done via common technique using Jamshidi needles (Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA)...

There is a rapidly increasing amount of literature outlining the use of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and printing technologies in recent years. However, precise instructive articles which describe step-by-step methods of reconstructing 3D images from computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remain limited. To address these issues, this article describes a detailed protocol which will allow the reader to easily perform the 3D reconstruction in their future research, to allow investigation of the appropriate surgical anatomy and allow innovative designs of novel screw fixation techniques or pre-operative surgical planning...

Background: To compare the differences in the thirty-day postoperative outcomes between cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Methods: Patients undergoing primary single-level ACDF and CDA from 2010-2014 were identified by unique Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes within the American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Primary outcomes included surgical and medical complications, length of hospital stay (LOS), unplanned readmission, return to operating room, and mortality all occurring within 30 days of the initial procedure...

Background: The purpose of this study is to present clinical outcome data from a 2-year post-market study of a viscoelastic one-piece cervical total disc replacement (TDR) in Europe. Methods: Thirty-nine patients were implanted at five surgical sites in an European post-market clinical study. Clinical outcomes included improvement of neck disability index (NDI) and visual analog scale scores for neck and arm pain from baseline to 2-year follow-up, neurological examinations, patients view on the success of surgery, complications, and subsequent surgical interventions...

Background: Identifying the gluteal vessels during a posterior sacrectomy can be challenging. This study defines anatomical landmarks that can be used to approximate the location of the superior and inferior gluteal arteries (SGA and IGA) during a posterior sacrectomy. Methods: Cadaveric dissection of six fresh adult pelvises to determine the location of the SGA and IGA in relation to the posterior-inferior aspect of the sacroiliac joint (PISIJ), lateral sacral margin and sacrococcygeal joint (SCJ)...

Background: Neurogenic intermittent claudication (NIC) is the main symptom of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. Percutaneous interspinous process decompression devices (IPDs) have been designed as an alternative therapy to conservative treatment and to open decompressive surgery for patients suffering from NIC. Initial short-term results were encouraging. We present the long-term results of a group of patients that we followed to provide insight on long-term outcomes and effectiveness of this technique compared to other decompression methods...