OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy and the effect of drill guide template for pedicle screw placement in severe scoliosis. METHOD Eight patients with rigid scoliosis were enrolled, five males and three females, ranging from nine to 23 years old. A three-dimensional CT scan of the spine was performed and saved as a DICOM file type. The multi-level template was designed by Mimics software and m...

Osteoporosis causes a decrease in bone mineral density. To overcome the decrease in fixation strength, a variety of techniques and devices have been developed, including cement augmentation of pedicle screws. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), is commonly known as bone cement, and is widely used for implant fixation in various orthopaedic and spine surgery. In general, PMMA augmentation of pedicle...

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective cross-sectional study. PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and safety of free-hand pedicle screw insertion performed by a young surgeon. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Few articles exist regarding the safety of the free-hand technique without inspection by an experienced spine surgeon. METHODS The index surgeon has performed spinal surgery fo...

BACKGROUND We aimed to use the animal model of dynamic fixation to examine the interaction of the pedicle screw surface with surrounding bone, and determine whether pedicle screws achieve good mechanical stability in the vertebrae. METHODS Twenty-four goats aged 2-3 years had Cosmic ® pedicle screws implanted into both sides of the L2-L5 pedicles. Twelve goats in the bilateral dynamic fixatio...

BACKGROUND Pedicle screw instrumentation is widely used for spinal stabilization. However, the accuracy for free-hand screw placement ranges from 69% to 94%. This study assesses the value of the existing classification systems, and investigates their impact on the ability to assess the accuracy of free-hand screw placement. METHODS Data were collected retrospectively from the medical records ...

To investigate the treatment results for the different surgical approaches for intraspinal tumor in lumbar spine. We retrospectively reviewed data for 51 patients with intraspinal tumors who were treated with surgery. We used the navigation system (group A) or traditional method (group B) to guide the surgery. Through the comparison of group A (22 patients) and group B (29 patients), we found s...

Study Design Biomechanical study of pedicle screw fixation in osteoporotic bone. Objective To investigate whether it is better to tap or not tap osteoporotic bone prior to placing a cement-augmented pedicle screw. Methods Initially, we evaluated load to failure of screws placed in cancellous bone blocks with or without prior tapping as well as after varying the depths of tapping prior to screw ...

We examined the radiographs from a prospective clinical study of fixation by pedicle screws and those from an experimental study in a sheep model. In the clinical study, instruments were removed from 21 patients after implantation for 11 to 16 months and the extraction torques of the screws were recorded. A structured protocol was used for the radiological examinations. In the experimental stud...

INTRODUCTION Cement augmentation of pedicle screws has been shown to improve screw fixation in osteopenic spines. The use of polymethylmethacrylate cement augmentation has been documented in various studies using a number of different techniques: cement injection directly into an open pilot hole, through cannulated screws, using implanted sleeves, and using kyphoplasty techniques. Complications...

Background: The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the accuracy of pedicular screw insertion withoutthe use of fluoroscopy.Methods: This study was conducted on patients with spinal diseases in need of pedicular screw fixation and fusion.The included patients suffered from such conditions as vertebral fracture, spinal stenosis, kyphosis, tumor, and pelvicf...