Spine fusion is used to treat traumatic or degenerative lumbar instability in the cervical or lumbar spine. Although degenerative radiological changes in discs adjacent to a fusion have been well-recognized, histopathological changes in adjacent discs have not been studied and are poorly understood. An economical small animal model for lumbar fusion would be a useful research tool. Study object...

OBJECT Previous studies of surgical complications associated with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) are of limited value due to intrastudy variation in instrumentation and fusion techniques. The purpose of the present study was to examine rates of intraoperative and postoperative complications of PLIF using a large number of cases with uniform instrumentation and a uniform fusion techniq...

BACKGROUND Failure of pedicle screw fixation is often seen in patients with severe osteoporosis. We developed new lumbar spinal instrumentation (Tadpole system) for elderly patients who have osteoporotic bone and poor general health status. The objective of this study was to document the long-term clinical outcomes after Tadpole system fixation, the rate of spinal fusion, the incidence of adjac...

surgery for Medicare patients over the age of 60 seems cynical. There may be no definitive proof that mobility of a particular segment delays, mitigates or prevents adjacent segment degeneration, but there is proof that the proper use of lumbar artificial disc does provide similar clinical outcomes (as does lumbar fusion) and patients recover more quickly from surgery. michael_hobert (lifenet.org)

STUDY DESIGN A cross-sectional imaging study. PURPOSE The objective was to assess the degree of degeneration and the associated factors through imaging studies of the lesion segment and the adjacent superior and inferior segments of isthmic and degenerative spondylolisthesis. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Few articles existed for degeneration and related factors in isthmic and degenerative spondyl...

The purpose of this study was to determine the intermediate clinical and radiographic outcomes of Bryan Cervical Disc (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc, Memphis, Tennessee) replacement for the treatment of cervical degenerative disk disease and its effect on adjacent levels. Between November 2004 and December 2007, thirty-four patients (38 disks) underwent Bryan Cervical Disc replacement in the aut...

Objective To compare the medium-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of Dynesys dynamic stabilization and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for treatment of multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease. Methods Fifty-seven patients with multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease underwent Dynesys stabilization (n = 26) or PLIF (n = 31) from December 2008 to February 2010. The mean follo...