Methods: The study included patients with OVFs undergoing VP with or without SS from 2017 to 2021. Baseline demographic and patient-reported outcome scores, including Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and European Quality-of-Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), were collected preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. Radiographic outcomes, including Cobb angle, sagittal angle reduction, and kyphotic progression, were assessed. Perioperative data were gathered. Propensity-score matching was conducted to compare both groups after adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results: This study included 60 patients. The subsequent analyses included 19 patients in both the SS+VP group and the VP groups after matching patient cohorts across various covariates. The SS+VP group demonstrated better ODI (30.38±17.12 vs. 49.68±19.43, p=0.0025) and EQ-5D scores (0.80±0.19 vs. 0.6±0.31, p=0.0018) at 1 year postoperative. Sagittal angle correction was higher in the SS+VP group (10.63°±6.34° vs. 5.74°±5.91°, p=0.0188). The SS+VP group exhibited higher blood loss and longer operative time. Perioperative complications, kyphotic progression, adjacent fractures, and reoperation rates were similar between the two groups. Conclusions SS with VP generated superior patient-reported outcomes and sagittal angle correction for OVFs when evaluated one year postoperatively compared to VP alone. Perioperative complications, kyphotic progression, adjacent fractures, and reoperation rates were similar despite increased blood loss and extended operative time.

Methods: The study included patients with OVFs undergoing VP with or without SS from 2017 to 2021. Baseline demographic and patient-reported outcome scores, including Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and European Quality-of-Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), were collected preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. Radiographic outcomes, including Cobb angle, sagittal angle reduction, and kyphotic progression, were assessed. Perioperative data were gathered. Propensity-score matching was conducted to compare both groups after adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results: This study included 60 patients. The subsequent analyses included 19 patients in both the SS+VP group and the VP groups after matching patient cohorts across various covariates. The SS+VP group demonstrated better ODI (30.38±17.12 vs. 49.68±19.43, p=0.0025) and EQ-5D scores (0.80±0.19 vs. 0.6±0.31, p=0.0018) at 1 year postoperative. Sagittal angle correction was higher in the SS+VP group (10.63°±6.34° vs. 5.74°±5.91°, p=0.0188). The SS+VP group exhibited higher blood loss and longer operative time. Perioperative complications, kyphotic progression, adjacent fractures, and reoperation rates were similar between the two groups. Conclusions SS with VP generated superior patient-reported outcomes and sagittal angle correction for OVFs when evaluated one year postoperatively compared to VP alone. Perioperative complications, kyphotic progression, adjacent fractures, and reoperation rates were similar despite increased blood loss and extended operative time.

Methods: The study included patients with OVFs undergoing VP with or without SS from 2017 to 2021. Baseline demographic and patient-reported outcome scores, including Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and European Quality-of-Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), were collected preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. Radiographic outcomes, including Cobb angle, sagittal angle reduction, and kyphotic progression, were assessed. Perioperative data were gathered. Propensity-score matching was conducted to compare both groups after adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results: This study included 60 patients. The subsequent analyses included 19 patients in both the SS+VP group and the VP groups after matching patient cohorts across various covariates. The SS+VP group demonstrated better ODI (30.38±17.12 vs. 49.68±19.43, p=0.0025) and EQ-5D scores (0.80±0.19 vs. 0.6±0.31, p=0.0018) at 1 year postoperative. Sagittal angle correction was higher in the SS+VP group (10.63°±6.34° vs. 5.74°±5.91°, p=0.0188). The SS+VP group exhibited higher blood loss and longer operative time. Perioperative complications, kyphotic progression, adjacent fractures, and reoperation rates were similar between the two groups. Conclusions SS with VP generated superior patient-reported outcomes and sagittal angle correction for OVFs when evaluated one year postoperatively compared to VP alone. Perioperative complications, kyphotic progression, adjacent fractures, and reoperation rates were similar despite increased blood loss and extended operative time.

Methods: This study included 1,095 patients (mean age, 44.29 years; range, 16–85 years) who underwent upright lumbar MRI. LDD was graded into five categories (I–V). Positive LDD was defined as grade III or greater. The prevalence and pattern of LDD were analyzed, and the correlations between age and total grade of LDD were evaluated. Results: The average number of LDD levels and the total grade of LDD increased with age. LDD moved cephalad with age. The rate of LDD increased rapidly during the decade before the prevalence of LDD and became >50%. In the single-level LDD group, the levels L5–S1 were the most common levels (60.3%). In the two-level group, L4–L5 and L5–S1 were the most common levels (53.5%). In the three-level group, L3–L4, L4–L5, and L5–S1 were the most common levels (55.7%). In the multilevel LDD group, contiguous multilevel disc degeneration (CMDD) was more common than the skipped level disc degeneration (SLDD). The levels L4–L5 were the most common levels in the CMDD group, and L5–S1 were the most common levels among SLDD. Conclusions LDD was found to correlate with age, and the specific patterns and rates of LDD depended on lumbar disc level and age. These LDD pattern data can be used before spinal procedures to predict the probability of natural LDD progression with age.