Single stage anterior cervical reconstruction with titanium mesh cages, local bone graft, and anterior plating.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: After cervical corpectomy, the use of tricortical autologous bone to fill the large defect is biomechanically and structurally inadequate and may lead to excessive donor site pain and morbidity. The major alternative, fibular strut allograft, has inherent problems that lead to lower rates of solid arthrodesis and graft migration. Majd et al. reported on 34 cases with a 97% solid fusion rate using titanium mesh cages and local bone graft to fill the cervical corpectomy defect. PURPOSE: With long-term results, to confirm the results previously reported by Majd et al. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: Retrospective chart and radiological review. PATIENT SAMPLE: The first 26 patients in the senior author's practice eligible for a minimum 2-year follow-up, having had cervical corpectomy reconstructed with titanium mesh cages, local bone graft and anterior plating. OUTCOME MEASURES: Odom's criteria were used to assess clinical outcome. Anteroposterior, lateral and lateral flexion and extension radiographs were used to assess fusion. METHODS: Twenty-six patients with multilevel cervical pathology underwent successful corpectomy, decompression and fusion with titanium mesh cages filled with local bone graft. Rigid anterior plating was applied across the corpectomy defect. Preoperative, operative and postoperative chart data were collected retrospectively. Radiographic assessment included a minimum 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: Follow-up ranged from 24 to 64 months. Clinically, 21 of 26 (80.7%) had an excellent or good clinical outcome. No radiolucencies or motion were detected on radiographic analysis, yielding a fusion rate of 100% (26 of 26). Broken or pulled out screws were identified in two patients, one of whom had plate revision. All cages remained intact with no evidence of cage settling or collapse. CONCLUSIONS: The use of titanium mesh cages in conjunction with local bone graft, and rigid anterior plating is effective for cervical reconstruction after corpectomy and a viable alternative to the use of fibular strut allograft. These results confirm those previously reported by Majd et al.     

Minimally invasive 360° instrumented lumbar fusion

A retrospective preliminary study was undertaken of combined minimally invasive instrumented lumbar fusion utilizing the BERG (balloon-assisted endoscopic retroperitoneal gasless) approach ¶anteriorly, and a posterior small-incision approach with translaminar screw fixation and posterolateral ¶fusion. The study aimed to quantify the clinical and radiological results using this combined technique. The traditional minimally invasive approach to the anterior lumbar spine involves gas insufflation and provides reliable access only to L5-S1 and in some cases L4-5. A gas-mediated approach yields many technical drawbacks to performing spinal surgery. A minimally invasive posterior approach involving suprafascial pedicle screw instrumentation has been developed, but without widespread use. Translaminar facet fixation may be a viable alternative to transpedicular fixation in a 360° instrumented fusion model. Past studies have shown open 360° instrumented lumbar fusion yields high arthrodesis rates. The study examined the cases of 46 patients who underwent successful 360° instrumented lumbar fusion using a combined minimally invasive approach. Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) at one or two levels was performed through the BERG approach; a gasless retroperitoneal approach to the lumbar spine allowing the use ¶of standard anterior instrumentation. Posteriorly, all patients underwent successful decompression, translaminar fixation, and posterolateral fusion at one or two levels through ¶one small (2.5–5.0 cm) incision. Results showed mean hospital stay of 2.02 days; mean combined blood loss was 255 cc; and mean pain relief was 56%, with 75.5% of patients reporting good, excellent, or total pain relief. Forty-two of 46 patients (93.2%) achieved a solid fusion ¶24 months after surgery. A total of 47% of all patients working prior to surgery returned to work following surgery. The study showed that minimally invasive 360° instrumented lumbar fusion, when performed utilizing these approaches, yields a high rate of solid arthrodesis (93.3%), good pain relief, short hospital stays, low blood losses, accelerated rehabilitation, and a quick return to the workforce. The BERG approach offers technical advantages over the traditional gas-mediated laparoscopic approach to the anterior lumbar spine.     

Bone grafting alternatives in spinal surgery.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Bone grafting is used to augment bone healing and provide stability after spinal surgery. Autologous bone graft is limited in quantity and unfortunately associated with increased surgical time and donor-site morbidity. Alternatives to bone grafting in spinal surgery include the use of allografts, osteoinductive growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins and various synthetic osteoconductive carriers. PURPOSE: Recent research has provided insight into methods that may modulate the bone healing process at the cellular level in addition to reversing the effects of symptomatic disc degeneration, which is a potentially disabling condition, managed frequently with various fusion procedures. With many adjuncts and alternatives available for use in spinal surgery, a concise review of the current bone grafting alternatives in spinal surgery is necessary. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: A systematic review of the contemporary English literature on bone grafting in spinal surgery, including abstract information presented at national meetings. METHODS: Bone grafting alternatives were reviewed as to their efficacy in extending or replacing autologous bone graft sources in spinal applications. RESULTS: Alternatives to autologous bone graft include allograft bone, demineralized bone matrix, recombinant growth factors and synthetic implants. Each of these alternatives could possibly be combined with autologous bone marrow or various growth factors. Although none of the presently available substitutes provides all three of the fundamental properties of autograft bone (osteogenicity, osteoconductivity and osteoinductivity), there are a number of situations in which they have proven clinically useful. CONCLUSIONS: Alternatives to autogenous bone grafting find their greatest appeal when autograft bone is limited in supply or when acceptable rates of fusion may be achieved with these substitutes (or extenders) despite the absence of one or more of the properties of autologous bone graft. In these clinical situations, the morbidity of autograft harvest is reasonably avoided. Future research may discover that combinations of materials may cumulatively result in the expression of osteogenesis, osteoinductivity and osteoconductivity found in autogenous sources.     

Reconstruction of the lumbar spine using AO DCP plate internal fixation

Augmentation of lumbar spine fusion with internal fixation using pedicle screw systems has gained wide currency because it offers rigid stabilization to foster fusion healing. The AO DCP plate has been employed in Europe as a spinal implant with pedicle fixation using 6.5 mm, full-threaded cancellous bone screws with success. This report details the experience of using this device for lumbar spine fusion in a series of 46 North American patients with a mean follow-up of 1.25 years (range 1-2.5 years). Thirty-one patients had had prior lumbar spine surgery with poor outcomes, and 15 had had no prior surgery. All were treated surgically for lumbar degenerative disease with canal decompression, internal fixation with AO plates, and fusion with autologous bone grafting posterolaterally. Complications included two early and one delayed wound infection; five cases of screw loosening; three cases of screw breakage; and three cases of screw impingement upon a nerve. Results of surgery in 17 patients with failed interbody fusion included good to excellent pain relief in 59%, and solid fusion in 76%. In 14 patients with failed posterior surgery the good to excellent pain relief rate was 79%, and the fusion rate was 86%. In 15 patients undergoing primary surgery there was 89% good to excellent pain relief and a solid fusion rate of 87%. The benefits accruing from augmentation of the fusion with internal fixation using AO DCP plates are positive and justify its continued use. Complications encountered in the early experience have been significantly reduced in subsequent series, indicating the existence of a "learning curve" effect which would mandate specific training of spinal surgeons in the technique.     

Stabilization of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine with the internal spinal skeletal fixation system. Indications, techniques, and first results of treatment

Since 1984, 30 patients with burst fractures of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine were treated with AO internal spinal skeletal fixation system. All patients in this series had a minimum follow-up of 12 months. This new instrumentation is a posterior intrapedicular system developed by Dick in 1982. It allows stable fixation that is limited only to adjacent spinal segments. The internal fixator permits reduction in all three planes. Independently, it is possible to add distraction or compression to the involved segments. It also is able to reduce effectively the "middle column" which is thought to be accomplished by "ligamentotaxis." In this series there were 16 neurologically intact patients and 14 with partial or complete neurologic injury. There were two minor instrumentation loosenings early in the series. Most patients in this series had a near-anatomic reduction of all three columns in the involved segment. It was also possible to re-establish the normal lordosis of the lumbar spine. The device provided sufficient rigid fixation for rapid postoperative mobilization in a light external orthosis.     

Detektion zirkulierender Tumorzellen im peripheren Blut beim Prostatakarzinom

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be detected with sensitive immunocytological and molecular methods and can potentially cause distant metastases. Consecutively the prognostic significance of CTC-counts for survival was demonstrated in metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) revealing CTCs as reliable surrogate marker during therapy. Comparatively the prognostic value of a CTC-threshold with <?5 vs. ≥?5 CTCs was superior to the commonly used PSA-decrement algorithms. In contrast despite evidence of CTCs in localized PC, their clinical value in this stage is currently precarious. Furthermore, CTCs may serve as predictive markers with the ability to predict treatment sensitivity or resistance, since they may represent the heterogeneous molecular signature of primary as well as metastatic cancer lesions. Thus, the isolation of CTCs may serve not only as a prognostic tool but moreover as a liquid biopsy and a window towards personalized treatment. This review discusses the clinical impact of CTCs in the different stages of PC.