寰枢椎椎弓根螺钉固定治疗齿状突骨折并寰枢关节脱位

目的探讨寰枢椎椎弓根螺钉固定在对治疗齿突骨折合并寰枢关节脱位患者的疗效。方法筛选从2006年11月至2012年9月在我院就诊治疗的21例齿突骨折合并寰枢关节脱位患者,且均是本地居民,在手术前对21例患者进行日本骨科协会(JOA)评分标准进行评分,得分8¹4分,平均分(10.6±1.4)分,在治疗出院后随访时再次进行评分并和术前水平对比。结果对21例患者实施寰枢椎椎弓根螺钉固定术,术后患者均完全复位,且无神经根、脊髓损伤情况,在术后10个月时对患者进行随访调查并复查X线,发现固定情况良好,无松动等情况发生,同时JOA评分1414分,平均分(10.6±1.4)分,在治疗出院后随访时再次进行评分并和术前水平对比。结果对21例患者实施寰枢椎椎弓根螺钉固定术,术后患者均完全复位,且无神经根、脊髓损伤情况,在术后10个月时对患者进行随访调查并复查X线,发现固定情况良好,无松动等情况发生,同时JOA评分14¹7分,平均得分为(15.5±1.2)分。和患者入院时的评分结果对比提升明显(P<0.05),有统计学意义。结论寰枢椎椎弓根螺钉固定术很好的解决了齿突骨折合并寰枢关节脱位患者的困扰,能长期维持颅颈区稳定性,具有一定创新性。     

A rare case of ectopic laterocervical thymoma

The ectopic cervical thymoma is a rare site for a thymus neoplasm. It is frequently confused with cyst or with later neck mass of uncertain diagnosis until a histological diagnosis is made.Thymic neoplasms normally arise in the mediastinum, causing signs and symptoms of compression of the adjacent structures. Although rare, malignant thymomas may develop from an ectopic thymus, situated in the thyroid gland (Miyauchi et al., 1985, Matsuura et al., 2004), the neck (Yan et al., 2010, Yao et al., 2010, Jung et al., 1999), the lungs (Myers et al., 2007), and the heart (Miller et al., 2005). It is thought to be caused by the persistence of embryological organ portions along its route of physiological descent from the neck into the mediastinum during embryological development. The incidence of ectopic thymoma is around 4%.The thymus is a lympho-epithelial organ that is the centre of the development and maturation of the T lymphocytes. It develops from the ventral portion of the third and fourth pharyngeal pouches and by the sixth week of gestation it descends into the anterior mediastinum. It has a lobular structure with an external or cortical portion, richly populated by immature T cells, thymocyte and an internal medullary part.     

The changes of relative position of the thoracic aorta after anterior or posterior instrumentation of type I Lenke curve in adolescent idiopathic thoracic scoliosis

The risk of impingement of the aorta associated with thoracic vertebral screw or pedicle screw instrumentation in the treatment of thoracic scoliosis has been an important concern. To understand this phenomenon more systematically, the relative position of the aorta with reference to the thoracic vertebrae in right thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) following anterior and posterior spinal instrumentation was analyzed in detail quantitatively; 34 patients underwent anterior (n = 14) or posterior (n = 20) spinal instrumentation were recruited in the present study. The relative position of the thoracic aorta, vertebral rotation, apical vertebral translation and thoracic kyphosis were measured from pre- and post-operative CT images from T5 to T12. The aorta was found to shift antero-medially in the anterior instrumentation group but not in the posterior spinal instrumentation group. It is likely that the disc removal, soft tissue release and spontaneous vertebral derotation of the scoliosis could account for the antero-medial shifting of the aorta. By the shifting, the space for contralateral screw penetration was reduced.     

先天性脊柱侧凸患者中的脊髓畸形和脊椎畸形

目的:探讨先天性脊柱侧凸患者的各类脊髓畸形与脊椎畸形之间的关系。方法:对我院2003年～2005年收治的211例已确诊的先天性脊柱侧凸患者的临床资料进行回顾性分析,统计先天性脊柱侧凸患者脊髓畸形、脊椎畸形的发生率及其好发部位,观察两者间的关系。结果:211例先天性脊柱侧凸患者中脊髓畸形44例(20.85%),其中脊髓空洞症25例次(11.85%),脊髓纵裂30例次(14.22%),马尾终丝栓系28例次(13.27%),低位圆锥12例次(5.69%),其他类型少见,多种畸形常并发存在;脊髓畸形好发于脊柱胸段、胸腰段、腰段、腰骶段。44例伴有脊髓畸形的先天性脊柱侧凸病例中不良分节34例(77.27%),孤立性半椎体1例(2.27%),非孤立性半椎体21例(47.73%),脊柱裂30例(68.18%),混合型41例(93.18%);脊椎畸形好发于脊柱胸段、腰段、腰骶段。结论:先天性脊椎畸形常合并脊髓畸形,总体上脊髓畸形与脊椎畸形的好发部位相似,但各种脊髓畸形、脊椎畸形间缺少显著的、特定的对应关系。     

Osteochondritis (Calvé’s disease) of a vertebral body—a rare form of vertebra plana

In 1925, Calvé described vertebra plana as an aseptic necrosis of bone involving a single vertebral body of the spinal column. This theory was set aside in 1954 by Compere, who concluded that vertebra plana is caused by eosinophilic granuloma and not by osteochondritis as suggested by Calvé. It has been well documented in literature that many factors other than eosinophilic granuloma can cause vertebra plana-like destruction of the vertebral body. However, the definition of the terms was not clear, and there was no consensus on whether to call these cases vertebra plana or not. Some authors did, some did not. Anyhow, no publication so far has reported on osteochondritis as a rare cause of vertebra plana. The case of a 12-year-old girl, presented here by the authors, suggests this explanation. Some important conclusions can be drawn from this regarding the nomenclature, the diagnosis, and the therapy.     

Biomechanical evaluation of a dynamic pedicle screw fixation device

BACKGROUND: Recent innovations in dynamic devices have promised a reduction in stress shielding, protection of adjacent segment degeneration, and decreased implant failure. However, there have been few studies comparing the biomechanical properties of a rigid device in comparison to a dynamic posterior fixation device. The purpose of this study was to compare the immediate stability of a new dynamic pedicle screw fixation device with an equivalent rigid device. METHODS: Six thoracolumbar cadaver spines (T10-L4) were fixed in a biomechanical testing frame. Pure moments of 10Nm were loaded in six directions: flexion, extension, right and left lateral bending, and right and left axial rotation. For each spine, four different stages were tested: intact, destabilization of the middle segment, fixation with the dynamic device, and fixation with the rigid device. Ranges of motion were measured using stereophotogrammetry. The specimens with each device were then subjected to flexion-compression loading for five cycles on a MTS 858 Universal Testing Machine. The average stiffness of the last three cycles was recorded. FINDINGS: Both dynamic and rigid devices were found to provide stability for the injured segment in flexion-extension and lateral bending. In axial rotation, the devices could restore the stability to levels similar to those in an intact spine. Results also indicated a slight increase in range of motion in flexion-extension and significant reduction in stiffness of flexion-compression with the dynamic device (P < 0.01), in comparison to the rigid device. INTERPRETATION: The dynamic device offers a system that may alter favorably the movement and load transmission of a spinal motion segment without sacrificing construct stability.     

脊柱恶性原始神经外胚层瘤的临床研究

目的:对患有脊柱恶性原始神经外胚层瘤的患者的临床表现和治疗的效果进行分析。方法:选取8例患有脊柱恶性原始神经外胚层瘤的临床确诊患者,将其分为A、B两组,平均每组4例。A组患者采用手术治疗法进行治疗;B组患者在A组基础上再进行放疗、化疗治疗。对两组患者的平均存活率、平均出院时间进行比较分析,并总结其临床表现。结果:B组患者的平均存活时间,明显高于A组患者,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);该组患者的平均住院治疗时间,明显短于A组患者,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:充分了解患有脊柱恶性原始神经外胚层瘤的患者的临床表现,可以保证临床对该类患者进行更加准确的诊断,为进一步进行有效治疗争取更多的时间,临床采用手术加放疗、化疗的方法对该类患者进行治疗的效果非常明显,虽然患者会出现骨髓移植的放疗、化疗常见并发症,但是可以使患者的存活时间、生存治疗得到更好的保障,可以做为今后临床对该类患者进行治疗首选方法。     

Use of Second Window ICG in spinal cord biopsy of a mildly contrast-enhancing lesion: Technical note and review of the literature

IntroductionIndocyanine green (ICG) is commonly used to visualize cerebral vasculature, particularly in the management of cerebral aneurysms. There have also been attempts to use ICG for visualization of tumors. Injection of ICG followed by immediate fluorescence microscopy is limited by the short time window for imaging and administration and restricted depth of imaging. Second Window Indocyanine Green (SWIG) addresses these issues by allowing for longer contrast times and the imaging of deeper regions of brain tissue. Biopsy of spinal cord lesions is often difficult for a variety of reasons, including the delicate nature of the tissue and differentiating normal from lesional tissue visually, especially in lesions with heterogeneous enhancement.MethodsIn this case report, we describe the use of second window ICG to facilitate the visualization of a spinal cord lesion and subsequent biopsy of the lesion.ResultsThis patient is a 24-year-old female who had recurrence of a suprasellar germinoma. An MRI of the rest of the neuraxis was performed to assess for the presence of drop metastases. The spinal cord from C2-5 was expanded with areas of patchy enhancement; however, this lesion was asymptomatic. The patient's oncologist requested a biopsy of this lesion to help direct subsequent care of her recurrent germinoma. The day before surgery, the patient had an intravenous injection of ICG dye. She then underwent a C3-5 laminectomy for biopsy of her cervical intramedullary lesion. After opening of the dura, no visible abnormality of the spinal cord could be identified. A Stryker endoscope showed an area of ICG uptake in the cord at approximately the C3-4 level. A midline myelotomy was centered over the ICG demarcated area and several samples were taken for pathology. Final biopsy results determined the lesion to be spinal cord parenchyma with perivascular and intraparenchymal lymphocytes – not consistent with spinal cord tumor or germinoma.ConclusionSecond Window ICG is effective in visualizing otherwise visually unremarkable spinal cord lesions. This technology can facilitate biopsy of these lesions and possibly their surgical resection.     

Clinical parameters and radiographic resorption of a novel magnesium based bone void filler

BackgroundBone voids can present challenging problems for the Orthopaedic surgeon, and are often treated with backfilling followed by structural stabilization. Recently, a magnesium based, and presumably resorbable, bone void filler (BVF) has been developed, but has limited longitudinal clinical data. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate clinically relevant parameters and radiographic resorption characteristics of this novel magnesium based BVF (MgBVF) with long-term clinical data.MethodsAll patients who underwent surgery by a single surgeon in which MgBVF was utilized from 2019 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical parameters including evidence of infection, wound breakdown, and wound drainage were reviewed. Radiographic resorption, evidence of joint extrusion of BVF, heterotopic ossification, and subsidence was assessed at each post-operative visit. Those with less than 6 month follow up were excluded from radiographic analysis of resorption. Postoperative images at two weeks were compared to each subsequent radiograph during follow up, and reviewed by each of the three authors in blinded fashion. Interval radiographs were assigned a grade of radiographic resorption which corresponded to estimated percent resorption: grade 1 (0–25%), grade 2 (25–50%), grade 3 (50–75%), or grade 4 (75–100%). After 2 weeks, this process was repeated, and both inter and intraobserver reliability scores were calculated.ResultsForty-two patients were identified for clinical review, and 18 for radiographic review. Average length of follow up was 209±113 days. Five patients experienced a postoperative complication: two wound infections, one delayed wound healing, one sterile serous drainage, and one catastrophic failure of the fixation construct. Four patients were noted to have postoperative joint subsidence of 2 mm or less. Average grade of resorption was found to be 1.5 ± 0.8, 1.7 ± 0.9, 2.9 ± 0.9, and 3.6 ± 0.6 at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year, respectively (p<0.001). Average kappa (intrarater reliability) was found to be 0.61, 0.41, 0.55, and 0.63 for each time interval, respectively. Interrater reliability increased form 0.19 at 6 weeks to 0.42 at 1 year.ConclusionThis novel MgBVF demonstrates clinically relevant resorption, provides structural support in challenging bone voids, and does not appear to significantly increase risk of complications, setting it apart from previously described BVF's.