The porcine model is frequently used during development and validation of new spinal devices, because of its likeness to the human spine. These spinal devices are frequently composed of pedicle screws with a reputation for stable fixation but which can suffer pullouts during preclinical implantation on young animals, leading to high morbidity. With a view to identifying the best choices to opti...

BACKGROUND Lumbosacral fusion is a relatively common procedure that is used in the management of an unstable spine. The anterior interbody cage has been involved to enhance the stability of a pedicle screw construct used at the lumbosacral junction. Biomechanical differences between polyaxial and monoaxial pedicle screws linked with various rod contours were investigated to analyze the respecti...

STUDY DESIGN This is a retrospective series. PURPOSE We wanted to analyze the safety and effectiveness of using the newer generation metallic implants (pedicle screws and/or titanium mesh) for the treatment of tuberculous spondylitis. OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE: There have been various efforts to prevent the development of a kyphotic deformity after the treatment of tuberculous spondylitis, i...

BACKGROUND Traditional one-above and one-below four-screw posterior short-segment instrumentation is used for unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures. However, this method has a high rate of implant failure and early loss of reduction. The purpose of this study was to use finite element (FE) analysis to determine the effect of treating thoracolumbar burst fractures by short-segment pedicle screw...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case-control study. OBJECTIVE A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed by comparing patients who received extension revision operations for adjacent segment disease (ASD) reusing the pedicle screws extracted from fused segments with patients who received conventional surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA ASD often required extension revision surgery, and during e...

PURPOSE Main aim of the present study was to test and show the dissolution of coatings onto Ti6Al4V pedicle screws by both in vitro and in vivo analysis. METHODS Hydroxyapatite (HA) was coated on Ti6Al4V by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The dissolution of the coatings was tested in vitro. The coating was characterized before and after implantation via pull-out tests, X-ray diffraction (XR...

Although the clinical and biomechanical advantages of pedicle screws are well documented, the accuracy of their insertion is always a concern.Injury of neurovascular structures could be devastating. Perforation of the aorta from posteriorly placed screws is fortunately rare but could end up being lethal. We present a review of the current literature along with two illustrative cases with aorta ...

PURPOSE To evaluate the current evidence in the literature on treatment strategies for degenerative lumbar spine fusion in patients with osteoporosis. METHODS A systematic review of the literature from 1950 to 2015. RESULTS The review of the literature yielded 15 studies on the effect of treatment options for osteoporosis on lumbar fusion rates. This study evaluated only degenerative lumbar...

OBJECT Lumbar interbody fusion is indicated in the treatment of degenerative conditions. Laterally inserted interbody cages significantly decrease range of motion (ROM) compared with other cages. Supplemental fixation options such as lateral plates or spinous process plates have been shown to provide stability and to reduce morbidity. The authors of the current study investigate the in vitro st...

BACKGROUND The biomechanical performance of the hooks and screws in spinal posterior instrumentation is not well-characterized. Screw-bone interface failure at the uppermost and lowermost vertebrae is not uncommon. Some have advocated for the use of supplement hooks to prevent screw loosening. However, studies describing methods for combined hook and screw systems that fully address the benefit...