Surgical correction of proximal junctional kyphosis

This 3D video showcases the surgical techniques for patients with proximal junctional kyphosis. The surgical repair for patients with proximal junctional kyphosis is an individualized approach depending on patient history and imaging with adequate surgical measurements. This video will shed light on two cases with proximal junctional kyphosis and the method taken for their repair. The first case is of an 11-year-old female known to have osteogenesis imperfecta and status post T5–L3 posterior spinal fusion with segmental instrumentation. The patient underwent change of older instruments and scoliosis repair, with full correction on postoperative x-ray. The second patient is a 16-year-old male known to have cerebral palsy and kyphoscoliosis status post spinal fusion. The patient underwent scoliosis repair surgery with replacement of old instrumentation and scoliosis correction.The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/f5iLwqbU26Q.

Traumatic Craniocervical Dissociation in Patients with Congenital Assimilation of the Atlas to the Occiput

Traumatic atlantooccipital dissociation (AOD) is a severe and usually fatal injury. Patients with assimilation of the atlas to the skull are exposed to a higher risk of injury and delay diagnosis due to the abnormal anatomy. We report two cases of acute traumatic craniocervical dislocation in patients with baseline congenital assimilation of the atlas to the skull. Computer tomography (CT) was used to identify the injury. Computer tomography angiography (CTA) showed variations of the vertebral arteries’ location on both patients. Assimilation of the atlas was complete in patient one and partial in patient two. Emergent surgical instrumentation and fusion were performed with a very careful and meticulous posterior dissection. As general rule, most of the patients with CCD will undergo occiput to C2 posterior segmental instrumentation and fusion. In the presented cases, a more extensive fusion was necessary based on the type and severity of the CCJ injury and the anatomical anomalies associated. Postoperatively, patient one remained neurologically intact and patient two died. Alternative fixation techniques should be used to minimize risk of VA injury during the surgical procedures.

Microsurgical Experience with Pedicle-Sparing Transfacet Approach for Thoracic Disk Herniation

Purpose Thoracic disk herniation (TDH) is relatively uncommon. The surgical approach differs from lumbar or cervical disk herniations because serious complications are associated with the posterior approach in TDH. Various different approaches have been tried for the surgical removal of TDH, but most of them are cumbersome surgeries such as thoracotomy or thoracoscopic or anterior approaches with or without instrumentation. The requirement for a simplified, familiar, and less morbid surgery has motivated some new approaches. A pedicle-sparing transfacet approach (PSTA) was first described in 1995, but to date no sufficient clinical series has been presented in the literature to report on its feasibility and applicability along with complication and morbidity rates. Our objective was to assess the feasibility of the PSTA under microscopic visualization in a cumulative clinical series. Methods Twenty-eight consecutive patients with no response to medical/physical treatment with and without motor weakness of their lower extremities underwent the surgery for TDH via the PSTA under microscopic visualization by a senior neurosurgeon. Preoperative and postoperative low extremity muscle strength, sensation, reflex status, and visual analog scores (VAS), Nurick grades, and complications were recorded. Postoperative MRI within 24 hours was performed. The median follow-up period was 33 months. Results The patients consisted of 16 men and 12 women. The disk levels ranged from T8 to T12–L1. All but one patient received one-level surgery. One patient was operated on two levels. A total of 21 patients had paracentral disk herniations; the other 7 had central disk herniations. Postoperative MRI showed satisfactory removal of disk herniation in all but one patient. There was no infection, wrong level surgery, or incidental durotomy. Median VAS levels significantly improved after the operation from 7.4 to 2.3. The Nuric grades decreased from 2.7 to 1.6 after surgery. Conclusions The microsurgical PSTA is a safe and feasible technique with a significantly shorter surgeon's learning curve. The approach offers a wide surgical window; moreover, it can by increased by tilting the surgical table allowing satisfactory decompression of TDH. After PSTA, segmental instrumentation is not required.

Management of Thoracic Disc Herniations via Posterior Unilateral Modified Transfacet Pedicle–Sparing Decompression With Segmental Instrumentation and Interbody Fusion

Study Design: Retrospective consecutive case series. Objective: The objective of this case series was to demonstrate the safety of a modified transfacet pedicle–sparing decompression and instrumented fusion in patients with thoracic disc herniations (TDHs). Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing operative management of TDH from July 2007 to December 2011 using a posterior unilateral modified transfacet pedicle–sparing approach were identified. All patients underwent open or minimally invasive modified transfacet pedicle–sparing discectomy and segmental instrumentation with interbody fusion, performed by four different surgeons. Pre- and postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, Nurick grade, and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) were analyzed from a retrospective chart review. Estimated blood loss and complications were also obtained. Results: Fifty-one patients were included that had operations for TDH. Thirty-nine patients had single level decompression and 12 had multilevel decompression. The total number of levels operated on was 64. Five patients were treated with minimally invasive surgery. A herniated disc level of T11-12 (n = 17) was treated most often. One major complication of epidural hematoma occurred. Minor complications such as malpositioned hardware, postoperative hematoma, wound infection, pseudoarthrosis, and pulmonary complications occurred in a few patients. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 46 months with 1 patient lost to follow-up. From preoperative to final postoperative: mean VAS scores improved from 8.31 to 4.05, AIS in all patients remained stable or improved, and Nurick scores improved from 3 to 2.6 on average. No intraoperative or permanent neurological deficit occurred. Conclusion: In our surgical series, 51 consecutive patients underwent modified transfacet pedicle–sparing approach to TDHs and experienced improvement of functional status as well as improvement of objective pain scales with no neurological complications. The posterior unilateral modified transfacet pedicle–sparing decompression and instrumented fusion approach to the thoracic spine is a safe and reproducible procedure for the treatment of TDHs.