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Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2018 Dec 11. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Department of Neurosurgery, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

Study Design: Reliability Study.

Objective: To evaluate the applicability and reliability of 9.4T MRI in the assessment of degenerative disc disease compared to 3T MRI. Read More

Zhongguo Gu Shang 2018 Nov;31(11):1065-1068

Department of Spinal Surgery, Mingzhou Hospital of Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, Zhejiang, China;

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy via lateral position assisted with local anesthesia for lumbar disc herniation in elder with systemic diseases.

Methods: The clinical data of 44 elder patients with lumbar disc herniation and systemic diseases treated from June 2013 to June 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Including 26 males and 18 females, aged 70 to 86 years old with an average of(77. Read More

Pain Physician 2018 Nov;21(6):E643-E650

Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Background: The non-operative treatment of herniated intervertebral discs has long been a fundamental challenge. A novel technique of laser ablation to ablate the nucleus pulposus under a transforaminal epiduroscope (TELA system, Lutronics, Seoul, Republic of Korea) was recently developed.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of transforaminal epiduroscopic laser ablation (TELA) for selective ablation of the nucleus pulposus in single-level disc disease. Read More

Orthop Surg 2018 Nov;10(4):328-336

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells induced by microencapsulated chondrocytes on repairing of intervertebral disc degeneration.

Methods: Rabbit chondrocytes and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were derived. Chondrocytes were microencapsulated by a microcapsule generator to produce microencapsulated chondrocytes (MEC). Read More

J Neurosurg Pediatr 2018 Oct 1:1-8. Epub 2018 Oct 1.

OBJECTIVEThe authors sought to investigate the efficiency of percutaneous endoscopic discectomy (PED) in adolescent patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), compare PED outcomes in adolescent patients with those in young adult LDH patients as controls, and discuss relevant technical notes.METHODSThis was a retrospective study involving 19 adolescent LDH patients (age > 13 and < 18 years, 20 discectomies) and 38 young adults (age < 40 years, 38 discectomies) who also had LDH and were matched to the adolescent group for sex and body mass index. The combined cohort included 51 male patients (89. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 24. Epub 2018 Nov 24.

Department of Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, China-INI, 45# Changchun Street, Xicheng District, 100053, P.R. China. Electronic address:

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the efficacy of OLIF (Oblique lumbar interbody fusion) in the treatment of degenerative lumbar disease.

Methods: Twenty-two patients with degenerative lumbar disease who underwent OLIF between October 2016 and January 2017 were included. Radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed pre- and postoperatively. Read More

Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2018 Oct 29;176:19-24. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Affiliated Xinqiao Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, No.183, Xinqiao Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400037, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

Objectives: To compare the clinical outcomes of patients with massive lumbar disc disease undergoing percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy and minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion at a single clinic.

Patients And Methods: From January 2008 to January 2014, 360 consecutive patients with massive lumbar disc herniation were treated with PELD(184 patients) or MIS-TLIF(176 patients). Data collected prospectively for analysis included clinical and radiographic results after revision surgery and complications. Read More

Orthop Surg 2018 Nov 25;10(4):306-311. Epub 2018 Nov 25.

Department of Orthopaedics, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Objective: Turnover of cartilage endplate extracellular matrix (ECM) may play an important role in disc degeneration and low back pain (LBP). However, the expression pattern of pro-inflammatory factors, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) in the cartilage endplates (CEP) of intervertebral discs (IVD) is not understood. We aimed to examine the transcriptional levels of MMP, TIMP, and interleukins (IL), and the correlations between them. Read More

J Pediatr 2018 Nov 19. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Division of Neurosurgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Objective: To review pediatric idiopathic intervertebral disc calcification (PIIVDC) within a single center and within the literature to outline the disease course, management, and outcome.

Study Design: A retrospective chart review was performed spanning the period between January 2001 and February 2016 for diagnoses of PIIVDC. Patient age, sex, symptoms, and history and physical and neurologic findings were reviewed. Read More

Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2018 Jun 18;61:38-45. Epub 2018 Jun 18.

Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America.

Background: Understanding the association between MR parameters and age related deterioration in human intervertebral disks forms an important step in the development of clinical diagnostic protocols for disk disease.

Methods: Ten unfixed thoracic and lumbar cadaver disk joints, age 37-81 years were imaged at 9.4 T using T2 relaxation (CPMG) and ADC (DWI spin echo) MR protocols. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2018 Nov 13. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan.

Charcot spinal arthropathy (CSA) is a rare spinal disorder presenting neuropathic osteoarthropathy of facet joints leading to progressive destruction. After L4-5 PLIF, a 63-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease (PD) underwent L3-4 and L5-S1 PLIF for primary adjacent segment disease caused by degenerative change, which was found as facet joint osteophytes and a vacuum disc phenomenon with endplate sclerosis. However, her postural disorder from PD deteriorated, and strong opioid analgesics were administered for severe recurring low back pain. Read More

Eur Radiol Exp 2018 Nov 7;2(1):32. Epub 2018 Nov 7.

Philips Research Laboratories, Hamburg, Germany.

Proton-density fat fraction (PDFF) of the paraspinal muscles, derived from chemical shift encoding-based water-fat magnetic resonance imaging, has emerged as an important surrogate biomarker in individuals with intervertebral disc disease, osteoporosis, sarcopenia and neuromuscular disorders. However, quantification of paraspinal muscle PDFF is currently limited in clinical routine due to the required time-consuming manual segmentation procedure. The present study aimed to develop an automatic segmentation algorithm of the lumbar paraspinal muscles based on water-fat sequences and compare the performance of this algorithm to ground truth data based on manual segmentation. Read More

Z Orthop Unfall 2018 Nov 6. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Rehabilitation, Reha Klinik Wien Baumgarten, Wien, Austria.

Background: With a life-time prevalence of 39%, low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders. Correct diagnosis of underlying causes is commonly seen as a prerequisite for successful therapy of LBP. Currently, there is no useful, non-invasive clinical test to diagnose painful lumbar zygapophyseal joints. Read More

EBioMedicine 2018 Nov 30;37:521-534. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

Faculty of Medicine and Graduate of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hokkaido University, N15W7, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8638, Japan.

Background: The current surgical procedure of choice for lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD) herniation is discectomy. However, defects within IVD produced upon discectomy may impair tissue healing and predispose patients to subsequent IVD degeneration. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of an acellular bioresorbable ultra-purified alginate (UPAL) gel implantation system is safe and effective as a reparative therapeutic strategy after lumbar discectomy. Read More

Asian Spine J 2018 Dec 16;12(6):1060-1068. Epub 2018 Oct 16.

Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Purpose: Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration is an important cause of low back pain.

Overview Of Literature: Spinal fusion is often reported to have a good course for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Oct;97(40):e12680

Department of SICU, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.

Spinal fusion has become a standard treatment for symptomatic intervertebral degenerative disc disease. The present study aimed to compare perioperative parameters, clinical outcomes, and radiographic results of stand-alone oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for the revision of rostral adjacent segment disease (ASD) following prior posterior lumbar fusion.Thirty-six patients who underwent revision surgeries for rostral ASD were retrospectively reviewed. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Oct;97(40):e12624

Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou.

Background: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a clinically common degenerative spinal disease that adversely affects patients' quality of life and work ability. Although several articles have reported that acupotomy can improve the clinical symptoms of LDH, the efficiency of acupotomy has not been scientifically or methodically evaluated. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate and synthesize evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy therapy in patients with LDH. Read More

Genet Test Mol Biomarkers 2018 Oct 5;22(10):622-629. Epub 2018 Oct 5.

3 Department of Joint Surgery, Yan'an People's Hospital , Yan'an, China .

Objective: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a common and frequent orthopedic disease with strong genetic determinants. The disruption of the intervertebral disc extracellular matrix has been found to play a key role in the development of LDH, suggesting that abnormal matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may promote the degradation of the disc matrix. MMP-9, an important member of the MMP family, is a good candidate for the LDH susceptibility gene. Read More

JBMR Plus 2018 May 8;2(3):154-163. Epub 2018 Mar 8.

Academic Endocrine Unit Radcliffe Department of Medicine University of Oxford Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Churchill Hospital Headington UK.

Kyphosis and scoliosis are common spinal disorders that occur as part of complex syndromes or as nonsyndromic, idiopathic diseases. Familial and twin studies implicate genetic involvement, although the causative genes for idiopathic kyphoscoliosis remain to be identified. To facilitate these studies, we investigated progeny of mice treated with the chemical mutagen -ethyl--nitrosourea (ENU) and assessed them for morphological and radiographic abnormalities. Read More

Asian J Neurosurg 2018 Jul-Sep;13(3):585-589

Department of Neurosurgery, Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Background: The role of the electrophysiologic studies in peripheral nerves and muscles of lower limbs (including paraspinal muscles) in prolapsed lumbar intervertebral discs has been studied with equivocal results. Pre- and post-operative electrodiagnostic studies have not been compared much.

Aims And Objectives: To study the role of the electrophysiologic studies in prolapsed lumbar/lumbosacral intervertebral discs for finding the association between clinical findings and electrophysiological changes and to compare the electrophysiologic studies pre- and post-operatively. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 3;119:479-487. Epub 2018 Jul 3.

Department of Neurosurgery, Saarland University Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Homburg-Saar, Germany. Electronic address:

Background: Among spinal surgeons, the safety of endoscopic spinal techniques has been criticized as the result of a prolonged learning curve and divergent surgical technique from traditional microsurgery. In this manuscript, the authors assessed the learning curve of 4 experienced microsurgical neurosurgeons in endoscopic spinal surgery.

Methods: Retrospectively, the surgical reports, the endoscopic video recording, and the files of all patients who underwent an endoscopic procedure for the treatment of cervical and lumbar disc herniation from January 2011 to December 2017 were reviewed. Read More

Int J Spine Surg 2018 Jan 30;12(1):49-57. Epub 2018 Mar 30.

Instituto de Patologia da Coluna, São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: Total lumbar disc replacement (TDR) devices have been designed to maintain motion, but both biomechanical and clinical data have indicated that a more controlled motion and additional load absorption in TDR would be beneficial. This work analyzed long-term results of an elastomeric disc (Physio-L) for degenerative lumbar conditions.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective, noncomparative, single-center clinical and radiological study. Read More

World Neurosurg 2019 Jan 29;121:e554-e565. Epub 2018 Sep 29.

Department of Pharmacology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Martin, Slovakia.

Objective: In lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (DSL), the criteria and extent of surgical treatment have not been strictly defined owing to the adjacent segment disease theory and unclear molecular pathogenesis. The present study analyzed the clinical and radiographic findings of patients after lower lumbar fusion surgery with single and 2-level DSL and explored the inflammatory mediator's role in DSL evolution and symptoms.

Methods: The prospective follow-up of patients with DSL, stratified by the stabilization extent (L4-L5, L5-S1, and L4-S1), included the Back Illness Pain and Disability 9-item questionnaire and native and dynamic radiographs to evaluate the intervertebral disc height and adjacent segments' angular motion. Read More

Int J Spine Surg 2018 Apr 3;12(2):201-240. Epub 2018 Aug 3.

Institute of Health Sciences, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Republic of Ireland.

Background: Replacement of a diseased lumbar intervertebral disc with an artificial device, a procedure known as lumbar total disc replacement (LTDR), has been practiced since the 1980s.

Methods: Comprehensive review of published literature germane to LTDR, but comment is restricted to high-quality evidence reporting implantation of lumbar artificial discs that have been commercially available for at least 15 years at the time of writing and which continue to be commercially available.

Results: LTDR is shown to be a noninferior (and sometimes superior) alternative to lumbar fusion in patients with discogenic low back pain and/or radicular pain attributable to lumbar disc degenerative disease (LDDD). Read More

Drug Des Devel Ther 2018 18;12:3033-3041. Epub 2018 Sep 18.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan,

Background: Estrogen deficiency is associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Sintered dicalcium pyrophosphate (SDCP) is a novel antiosteoporotic agent. In this study, we examined its use for restoration of bone quality and attenuation of disc degeneration in ovariectomy rats. Read More

J Inflamm (Lond) 2018 18;15:19. Epub 2018 Sep 18.

7Department of Orthopedics, Tainan Municipal An-Nan Hospital-China Medical University, Tainan, Taiwan.

Background: Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) is a major cause of spinal canal stenosis and is often related to lower back pain. IL-20 is emerging as a potent angiogenic, chemotactic, and proinflammatory cytokine related to several chronic inflammatory bone disorders likes intervertebral disc herniation, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoporosis, and bone fracture. IL-19 also acts as a proinflammatory cytokine in RA. Read More

Brain Behav Immun 2019 Jan 22;75:60-71. Epub 2018 Sep 22.

Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University Hospital, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address:

The aim of the study was to identify inflammatory cytokines/chemokines associated with neuroinflammation and periphery-to-CNS inflammatory cross-talk in degenerative disc disease (DDD) and lumbar disc herniation (LDH), common causes of low back pain (LBP). A secondary aim was to investigate the associations between cytokines and symptom severity.

Methods: In total, 40 DDD and 40 LDH patients were recruited from a surgical waiting list, as well as 39 healthy controls (HC) and 40 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) controls. Read More

J Orthop Surg Res 2018 Sep 20;13(1):241. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

Department of Orthopedics, The 5th Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, 30000, People's Republic of China.

Background: In recent years, the minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MI-TLIF) is increasingly used to manage the lumbar degenerative disease. However, whether MI-TLIF was superior than open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (O-TLIF) was controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the clinical outcomes between the MI-TLIF and O-TLIF in single-level degenerative lumbar diseases. Read More

Turk Neurosurg 2018 ;28(5):756-762

Koc University, School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey.

Aim: To investigate the postoperative complications, such as screw loosening, screw breakage and adjacent segment disease (ASD), in patients who underwent surgery with 2-level dynamic stabilization systems.

Material And Methods: Postoperative complications, clinical improvements and radiological parameters in patients who underwent surgery using a dynamic system for 2-level lumbar stabilization were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 103 patients with lumbar degenerative spinal instability underwent 2-level dynamic stabilization. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 17;9:1706. Epub 2018 Aug 17.

Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Degenerative disc disease is associated with increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the intervertebral disc (IVD). However, it is not completely clear how inflammation arises in the IVD and which cellular compartments are involved in this process. Recently, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has emerged as a possible modulator of inflammation in age-related disorders. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Dec 27;120:e710-e718. Epub 2018 Aug 27.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.

Background: The effect of indirect decompression after lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) is widely acknowledged; however, its details remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the immediate effects of indirect decompression just after LLIF cage placement but just before posterior instrumentation, using intraoperative computed tomography myelogram (iCTM).

Methods: Fifty-three levels from 28 patients undergoing LLIF with iCTM, were included in this retrospective study. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Dec 24;120:e517-e524. Epub 2018 Aug 24.

Department of Neurosurgery, Nanoori Gangnam Hospital, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address:

Objective: This study is aimed to comprehensively assess the prevalence and distribution of thoracic disc herniation (TDH) or thoracic hypertrophied ligamentum flavum causing stenosis (HLFS) by magnetic resonance image (MRI) in patients with back or leg pain.

Methods: The study participants included 2212 patients who underwent MRI evaluation for back or leg pain. The prevalence and distribution of TDH or thoracic HLFS were assessed using lumbar MRI with cervicothoracic sagittal images. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Dec 24;120:43-46. Epub 2018 Aug 24.

Neuroradiology, Service of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hôpital de Sion, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Sion, Switzerland.

Background: Sequestered disc fragments may present as a lesion with peripheral enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging. When located in the psoas muscle compartment, this finding could mimic an abscess.

Case Description: We describe a case of a 52-year-old man who returned from Togo after 2 years of living in precarious conditions. Read More

J Vis Exp 2018 08 7(138). Epub 2018 Aug 7.

Department of Neurosurgery, Nanoori Incheon Hospital.

Percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal lumbar discectomy (PETLD) has now become a standard of care for the management of lumbar disc disease. There are two techniques for the introduction of a working cannula with respect to disc-outside-in and inside-out. The aim of this prospective study is to describe the technical aspects of a novel mobile outside-in method in dealing with different types of disc prolapse. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Aug;97(34):e11951

Clinical Medicine Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

Background: As the number of patients suffering from back and/or leg pain due to lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is increasing in Korea, conservative treatments for patients with LDH have been spotlighted. Although several studies have been published on the use of acupotomy for the treatment of such patients, most of them are only case studies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy to those for manual acupuncture for the treatment of patients with LDH. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Aug;97(34):e11909

Department of Spine Surgery.

Rationale: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a degenerative disease and affects human health. Although percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) can redeem the living quality of patient with LDH rapidly, it appears weak to limit the recurrence rate of LDH.

Patient Concerns: A 52-year-old male suffered lower back pain and lower limb paralysis for 20 years. Read More

Zhongguo Xiu Fu Chong Jian Wai Ke Za Zhi 2018 Jul;32(7):933-940

Department of Spine Surgery, the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang Hebei, 050051, P.R.China.

Objective: To investigate the effect and effectiveness analysis of different approaches of transforaminal endoscope on extirpation amount of nuclues pulposus.

Methods: Between August 2011 and December 2014, a total of 165 patients with lumbar disc herniation were retrospectively enrolled and were treated with nucleus pulposus discectomy through transforaminal endoscope. The patients were randomly divided into 4 groups according to different approach of transforaminal endoscope. Read More

Zhongguo Xiu Fu Chong Jian Wai Ke Za Zhi 2018 Jul;32(7):927-932

Department of Orthopaedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan Hubei, 430030,

Objective: To explore the fusion effect of allograft Cages on transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF).

Methods: The clinical data of 30 patients (38 vertebral segments) who underwent TLIF with allograft interbody fusion Cages between January 2015 and January 2017 were retrospectively analysed. There were 25 males and 5 females with an average age of 56. Read More

Surg Radiol Anat 2018 Nov 20;40(11):1223-1230. Epub 2018 Aug 20.

Laboratoire d'Anatomie Des Alpes Francaises (LADAF), Faculty of Medicine, UFR de Médecine de Grenoble, Grenoble Alpes University, Domaine de la Merci, 38706, La Tronche Cedex, France.

Purpose: The pain involved in the herniated discs could be generated by some mobility of the nerve roots during straight leg raising (SLR). SLR produces some movement of nerves, but the magnitude of this displacement needs to be thorough, that is why we have investigated lumbo-sacral nerve root displacement in the spinal canal during the passive straight leg raise (SLR).

Methods: Fourteen cadavers underwent laminectomy to mark the nerve roots of L2-S1 with lead balls. Read More

Acta Cir Bras 2018 Jul;33(7):619-628

MD, Physician, Department of Radiology, Gaoyou People's Hospital, Gaoyou Hospital Affiliated, Soochow University, China. Analysis and interpretation of data, critical revision.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of CX3CL1 and NF-κB in the lumbar disc herniation induced neuropathic pain.

Methods: After LDH induced by implantation of autologous nucleus pulposus (NP) on the left L5 nerve root was established, mechanical thresholds and thermal hyperalgesia were tested at relevant time points during an observation period of 28 days. Expression of CX3CL1 and NF-κBin the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) were performed by using Western blotting and RT-PCR. Read More

Cent Eur J Public Health 2018 Jun;26(2):98-103

Department of Occupational Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.

Objective: As a part of regular revision of the List of Occupational Diseases in the Czech Republic, efforts have been made to add a new item so that lumbar spine disease caused by overload may be recognized as occupational one, with adherence to the valid national rules, that is, clinical criteria are met and objective assessment confirms working conditions under which, according to recent scientific knowledge, such an occupational disease develops. The aim is to provide information on the use of a proposed method for working condition assessment in a real setting, based on the initial experiences gained from a pilot study carried out to validate the method.

Methods: Working conditions were assessed in 55 individuals with chronic low back pain (25 males, 30 females; mean age 45. Read More

Asian Spine J 2018 Aug 27;12(4):720-725. Epub 2018 Jul 27.

Department of Neurosurgery, Kushiro Rosai Hospital, Hokkaido, Japan.

Study Design: Retrospective study (level of evidence=3).

Purpose: We examine the relationship between residual symptoms after discectomy for lumbar disc herniation and peripheral nerve (PN) neuropathy.

Overview Of Literature: Patients may report persistent or recurrent symptoms after lumbar disc herniation surgery; others fail to respond to a variety of treatments. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 27;119:e244-e249. Epub 2018 Jul 27.

Section for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. Electronic address:

Objective: To assess postoperative outcomes and complications after percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) with or without epidural steroids (ES) administration in lumbar disc herniation.

Methods: In a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial at Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, from May 2014 to May 2015, 30 patients were randomly allocated to receive ES or placebo (saline) after PELD. The primary outcome was 24-hour morphine consumption. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Dec 25;120:e72-e79. Epub 2018 Jul 25.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Affiliated Xinqiao Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address:

Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes of patients with lumbar disc herniation with bi-radicular symptoms undergoing percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) and minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF).

Methods: From January 2008 to January 2016, 89 consecutive patients with lumbar disc herniation with biradicular symptoms were treated with PELD or MIS-TLIF. The data were collected prospectively for analysis including clinical and radiographic results after revision surgery and complications. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 18;119:e174-e179. Epub 2018 Jul 18.

Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Objective: Segmental flexibility in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is crucial for the development of nonfusion and osteotomy technology. However, only global curve flexibility has been assessed in previous studies. Knowledge about segmental characteristics is absent. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 17;119:e78-e79. Epub 2018 Jul 17.

Endospine Surgery Center, Bordeaux, France.

Background And Objective: Spine surgery is entering a new era of evolution, with minimally invasive spine surgery to decompress the neural structures without affecting the stability of the spine. However, complications may occur. The surgeon must have these in mind in order to prevent them. Read More

Orthop Nurs 2018 Jul/Aug;37(4):246-252

Emel Yılmaz, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey. H. Yağmur Çıkrıkçıoğlu, RN, Research Nurse, Department of Surgical Nursing, Institute of Health Science, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey. Hakan Baydur, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Science, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey.

Background/purpose: This study aimed to determine the effect of functional disability and quality of life (QoL) on the decision to have surgery in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

Method/design: This is descriptive and cross-sectional survey. A total of 239 patients were included in the study. Read More

J Craniovertebr Junction Spine 2018 Apr-Jun;9(2):122-129

Department of Neurosurgery, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Background: There is growing indications of minimally invasive spine surgery. The inherent attitude and institutive learning curve limit transition from standard open surgery to minimally invasive surgery demanding understanding of new instruments and correlative anatomy.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, 80 patients operated for lumbar disc prolapse were included in the study (between January 2016 and March 2018). Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 6;119:e53-e59. Epub 2018 Jul 6.

Department of Orthopaedics, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.

Objective: The bi-needle technique is a new technique for percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy. This technique combines the advantages of Yeung endoscopic spine system (YESS) and transforaminal endoscopic spine system (TESSYS) techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of the bi-needle technique for percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy and compare it with the TESSYS technique. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Nov 26;119:500-505. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Department of Neurosurgery, Nanoori Incheon Hospital, Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Background: Partially calcified lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) can cause severe radiating pain and neurologic symptoms requiring surgical treatment. As it is not safe to enforce conventional endoscopic lumbar discectomy using trephine or burr to remove the partially calcified disc, we report a calcification floating technique using a working channel for the treatment of these cases.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 31 patients who underwent full endoscopic discectomy using this technique for partially calcified lumbar HNP between April 2009 and June 2013. Read More