At present, percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) has been rapidly developed in our country, showing that spine surgery has entered the era of the minimally invasive spine surgery, but we must clearly recognize the learning curve and the difficulties in the operation. According to the specific needs of patients, safe and effective should be premised, and take the most convenient and effective measures, avoid the blind pursuit of new technology and high technical difficulty, avoid increasing the surgical indications and avoid exaggeration effect. We must have a solid foundation of spinal surgery and seriously standardized training. We must establish reasonable access and training system, which can avoid detours, shorten the learning curve, and let the transforaminal endoscopic minimally invasive techniques have a healthy and stable development.

Nowadays, percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and microscopic endoscopic disecto?my (MED) are common techniques for lumbar disc herniation and stenosis. Similar to traditional fenestration, MED is per?formed via interlamina approach, and is suitable for most cases of lumbar disc herniation and stenosis. And the mobile MED (MMED) used by author is beneficial to expose and manipulation. The PTED is performed during normal saline irrigation via natural transforaminal or interlamina approach. Compared to MED, PTED is less invasive and has relatively limited operat?ing range, which depends on accurate puncture. MED and PTED have their particular standard and skills, and their indica?tion is crossed and complementary. These two techniques can be selected according to specific conditions of patients.

Compressive cervical myelopathy (CCM) is a common disease of spinal surgery. Various kinds of reasons such as herniation of cervical disc and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) lead to spinal canal stenosis, thereby compressing the spinal cord, and a series of neurological symptoms are caused. Currently, posterior cervical expansive open-door laminoplasty (PCEOLP) is widely used for cervical decompression in patients with CCM involving three or more levels. This operation can expand the spinal canal while preserving the posterior structures of the cervical spine, and non-neurological complications are relatively rare. However, there are characteristic complications to this procedure such as nerve root palsy, axial neck pain, and loss of range of motion (ROM). Various modified techniques of PCEOLP have been developed to reduce postoperative complications. In this review, clinical research progress of PCEOLP in recent years is summarized, mainly focusing on internal fixation of materials and methods, operative approach, cervical decompression level, combined application of different surgical procedures, opening size and application of new technologies.

The intervertebral disc disease is a group of clinical diseases with complex etiology, various clinical symptoms and poor conservative treatment effect. The traditional treatment methods include conservative treatment, local injection and open surgery. In recent years, minimally invasive spine surgery has made great progress and development, and its clinical effect has been fully affirmed. Coblation nucleoplasty (CN) has been mainly used in the treatment of contained disc herniation since it has been used in clinical treatment. Its application is not favorable because of narrow indications, uncertain clinical efficacy and other reasons. At present, the application of CN in the intervertebral disc diseases has been reported in many literatures, and its working principle, operation safety, indications and efficacy have been analyzed and extended. Those literatures play an important role in its clinical application. Therefore, in this paper, the application status of CN in the intervertebral disc diseases is reviewed.

Objective To modify the posterior procedures for severe thoracolumar fractures. Methods Twenty-one patients of thoracolumbar fractures with over 40% of anterior compression were studied. After reduction and fixation with short-segment pedicle instrumentation was performed, the transpedicular vertebroplasty of the fractured vertebrae with injectable self-setting calcium phosphate cement was carried out under fluoroscopic guidance. All patients were checked with X-ray and CT scanning before and after operation. They were followed up for 4-23 months (average 13 months). Results All patients obtained successful surgery without neurological complications or foreign body response. On CT scanning, the fractured vertebrae were well augmented in 13 cases and insufficiently augmented in 4 cases. Slight extrusion of cement into paravertebral tissue occurred in 4 cases without clinical symptoms. All patients were perfectly recovered without notable correction loss or implant failure during the follow-up. Conclusions Reduction and fixation with short-segment pedicle instrumentation followed by vertebroplasty with injectable self-setting calcium phosphate cement is a promising procedure for severe thoracolumbar fractures.

Objective To investigate the clinical results of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP) for symptomatic vertebral hemangioma. Methods Eleven patients(2 males and 9 females) suffered from symptomatic vertebral hemangioma(11 thoracic segment levels and 3 lumbar segment levels) were treated with PVP under DSA or CT guidance. The main goal of this procedure was to relieve hemangioma related pain. All patients were examined with CT scan after intervention and were followed up from 3 to 34 months (average, 15.2 months). Results The procedure was technically successful in all patients, with an average injection amount of 6.3 ml cement per vertebral body. No clinically significant complications were found. There was no epidural leakage, and the 2 paravertebral leakages detected with CT had no clinical importance. Partial or complete pain relief was achieved in all patients associated with improved mobility, and 1 patient experienced transitory worsening of pain followed by significant pain relief. Patients were discharged in 1-4 days (average, 1.5 days) after the procedure. Pain relief was sustained in all patients at the last following-up. Conclusion PVP is a valuable minimal invasive alternative procedure in treatment of symptomatic vertebral hemangioma and provides satisfactory pain relief with less complications.

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells as non-hematopoietic stem cells from the mesoderm mostly come from the bone marrow, which have a stronger self-renewal ability, multilineage differentiation ability and low immunogenicity and are easy to receive the introduction of foreign genes. Therefore this kind of cells have become the research hotspot in recent years. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the latest clinical application and advancement of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels in the treatment of various diseases. METHODS: PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed) and SinoMed (http://www.sinomed.ac.cn/zh/) databases were searched by the first author using the keywords of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, therapy to identify the relevant articles published in English and Chinese, respectively, from 2011 to 2016. After excluding repetitive, irrelevant or Meta-analysis literatures, we enrolled 49 literatures for final analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Studies on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have achieved new grades in the treatment of respiratory system disease, cardiovascular disease, urinary system disease, nervous system disease, liver disease, diabetes mellitus, hematological system disease, autoimmune disease, graft-versus-host disease, motor system disease, although its application has the risk of oncogenicity. Further investigation on the oncogenicity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells will be gradually explored, aiming to a better clinical use of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Objective To analyze the clinical results of percutaneous vertebr oplasty (PVP) for osteolytic spinal tumor. Methods Forty patients with osteolyt ic vertebral metastases or myeloma were selected from Feb. 2000 to Jun. 2003 to undergo percutaneous vertebroplasty. All patients complained of back pain. Among them, 6 cases had radiculopathy, and 1 had paraplegia. Based on CT or MR scanni ng, the posterior vertebral wall was involved in 21 cases. 42 PVP was performed on 59 segment levels under fluoroscopic or CT guidance, including 1 at cervical spine, 29 at thoracic spine, 27 at lumbar spine and 2 at sacrum, and biopsy was performed in 28 cases simultaneously. CT scanning was conducted after interventi on to assess the lesion filling and cement leakage, and all patients were asked to remain lying on bed for 4 hours prior to axial loading. In combination with P VP, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, medicament were administered before or after the intervention. Results The procedure was technically successful in all patients with an average injection amount of 6.5 ml cement per vertebral body. Partial or complete pain relief was achieved in 39 cases, associated with improved mobilit y in 38 cases, the symptoms of patients with radiculopathy and paraplegia were u nchanged. Two cases with severe multiple vertebral destruction underwent PVP at one segment, neither of them experienced improved mobility. In one case, the sev erity of pain was unchanged, while the other experienced partial pain relief for 48 hours. Leakages were detected with CT at 21 levels of 17 cases. 2 of 7 epidu ral leakage produced transitory radicular pain, which were relieved in 6 h and 8 h respectively. 2 with intervertebral foraminal venous leakage, 8 with paravert ebral leakage, and 6 with intra-disc leakage had no clinical symptoms. 37 cases were followed up from 2 to 32 months (average, 8.5 months). Exclusive of poor re sults in 2 patients, pain relief was sustained in 29 cases, and 6 patients exper ienced relapse of pain following partial pain relief, which was related to the d eterioration of tumors. Conclusion PVP of osteolytic spinal tumors is a minimal invasive procedure that provides immediate and stable pain relief with improved mobility. It can be combined with radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Objective To analyze the results and indications of anterior, posterior or combined surgery for thoracolumbar burst fractures. Methods A retrospective review of surgically managed thoracolumbar burst fractures from 1998 to 2003 was performed. There were 76 males and 13 females, and the age of the patients were from 17 to 51 years with an average of 36.8 years. The fractures were located at T11 in 10, T12 in 21, L1 in 29, L2 in 18 and L3 in 11. According to Magerl classification, type A fractures were 68, and type C were 21. Of the 89 patients, 41 received posterior surgeries, 40 anterior surgeries, and 8 combined anterior and posterior surgeries. Operative notes, preoperative and postoperative neurological status, radiographs, CT scans, and follow-up records were reviewed. Results All of the 89 cases had successful surgery. Seventy-eight patients were followed-up for 6 to 48 months (average 12 months). Neurological status improved at least 1 ASIA grade in all of the 65 patients who had preoperative incomplete paraplegia. In the posterior surgeries, pedicle screws broken in 2 cases, deep infection in 1 case which was cured after debridement. The correction of anterior vertebral body height and Cobb's angle averaged 9.4 mm and 14.8? postoperatively, and the correction loss averaged 0.5 mm and 7.5? respectively at 6 months after surgery. And the correction loss was most evident at the above disc spaces, then the below disc spaces. In the anterior surgeries, leakage of cerebrospinal fluid in 2 cases which cured with dressing change, the other cured after debridement, implant removal and posterior fixation. The spinal canal was enlarged, and the spine recovered normal curvature. No evident correction loss, pseudoarthrosis or implant failure was noted at follow-up. Conclusion The choice of anterior, posterior or combined surgery for thoracolumbar burst fractures depends on neurological status and column stability. The vertebral compression, canal encroachment, posterior column stability and concomitant displacement should be considered in the choice of appreciate surgical approach.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of vertebral body venography in performance of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP). Methods 92 patients with 124 vertebraes underwent PVP. Before injecting the bone cement, venography was performed with injection of nonionic contrast material into vertebral body. 124 vertebraes were classified into four groups according to the results of vebgrophy. Group A: no draining veins displayed; group B: draining veins appeared late; group C: draining veins appeared ahead of time; group D: draining veins appeared ahead of time, then intervention such as adjusting the puncture needle's position or gelatin sponge embolization of vein was performed to delay the appearance of veins. Results 94 of 124 vertebraes displayed draining veins. According to the results of vebgrophy, there're 30 vertebraes in group A, 25 in group B, 30 in group C, 39 in group D. Thirty-seven vertebraes demonstrated cement extravasation, cement entering vein was observed in sixteen vertebraes and two patients among them had pulmonary embolism. Venograms showed all correlative venous extravasation. Bone cement extravasation rate of each groups was 20.0%, 24.0%, 56.7% and 20.5% respectively. Moreover, extravasation rate of group C was higher than any other group. Pain reduction was observed in 88 of 92 patients after 30 days of the operation, the rate of pain relief was 95.7%. Conclusion Vertebral body venography could describe the velocity of venous blood flow within vertebral body and predict the direction of bone cement leaking to veins effectively, which could provid valuable information in takeing some measures to prevent bone cement leaking into veins. Vertebral body venography has very impotant clinical value in improving the safety and preventing complication of PVP.