STUDY DESIGN: Although the frequency of the oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) procedure has increased in recent years, reports on its complications remain rare. We report 2 cases of vertebral fracture after OLIF. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to report 2 cases of coronal vertebral fracture after an OLIF procedure in non-osteoporotic patients without significant trauma, and to review the complications of OLIF. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: There is a growing but limited literature describing early postoperative complications after OLIF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patient 1 was an obese woman who underwent 2-level OLIF with posterior instrumentation procedures and subsequently experienced 2-level coronal plane fractures. Patient 2 was an elderly man who underwent 3-level OLIF without posterior instrumentation and experienced 1 coronal vertebral fracture. We report vertebral body fracture as a complication of OLIF through these 2 cases. RESULTS: Patient 1 was treated nonsurgically after the fractures. The fractures healed uneventfully. However, patient 2 underwent posterior instrumented fusion and had a solid bridging bone above and below the fracture. Factors potentially contributing to these fractures are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: OLIF is an effective procedure for several spinal diseases. However, fracture can occur after OLIF even in non-osteoporotic patients. Factors such as intraoperative end-plate breach, subsidence, cage rolling, and inadequate posterior instrumentation could contribute to the development of fractures after oblique interbody fusion.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; Spinal Diseases

Subacute posttraumatic ascending myelopathy is a rare disorder, unrelated to syrinx formation or mechanical instability, which may gradually emerge within the first 1-2 weeks after a spinal cord injury and may lead to diagnostic and prognostic dilemmas. We present a case of 24-year-old female with unstable wedge compression fracture of L1 vertebrae with signal changes in the upper lumbar cord causing complete paraplegia below D9 with bladder and bowel involvement. In the subsequent week, she developed a delayed progressively increasing neurological deficit with cord signal abnormality on MRI extending cephalad from the injury site to the upper dorsal cord. The patient had no initial clinical improvement initially but showed a delayed recovery over months.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; etiology ; therapy ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; complications ; Spinal Fractures ; complications

PURPOSE: The elderly patients have been known for high incidence of postoperative complications following a lumbar fusion surgery. This study was conducted to determine the results of clinical outcomes after a lumbar fusion surgery in patients older than 75 years and to compare with those in patients between 65 and 74 years old. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty-five patients who underwent lumbar fusion were enrolled. The mean follow-up was 22.5+/-15.7 months. Preoperative diagnosis was spinal stenosis in 113 patients and degenerative spondylolisthesis in 12 patients. Revision surgery or multi-level spinal fusion (>4 segments) was excluded. There were 27 patients in group A (>75 years) and 98 patients in group B (65-74 years). Preoperative American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores, visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), postoperative complications, and bone union rate were compared. RESULTS: The mean age was 78.6 years and 68.8 years in Group A and Group B, respectively. The mean preoperative ASA score was statistically different between group A and group B (p=0.025). The mean bone mineral density T score in group A was higher than that in group B (p=0.002). The mean VAS did not show a difference between the groups (p=0.171). There was no difference in the mean ODI between the groups in the improvement of VAS and ODI. The major and minor complications of early complications and late complications were observed without any statistical difference. CONCLUSION: Although preoperative ASA score was higher and osteoporosis was severe in the elderly patients (>75 years old), the improvement of clinical outcome was satisfactory as much as younger patients (65-74 years old) following a lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative spinal disease.
Aged ; Bone Density ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Osteoporosis ; Postoperative Complications ; Spinal Diseases ; Spinal Fusion ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spine ; Spondylolisthesis

Avascular necrosis of a vertebral body, a relatively uncommon entity, is caused by malignancy, infection, radiation, systemic steroid treatment, trauma, and the like.1 Vertebral osteonecrosis induced by trauma is called Kvmell's disease, because it was initially described by Hermann Kvmell of Germany in 1891.2 This paper reported a young female with posttraumatic vertebral osteonecrosis and analyzed the causes. She was treated by thoracoscopic surgery successfully.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adolescent ; Female ; Humans ; Kyphosis ; etiology ; Osteonecrosis ; complications ; surgery ; Spinal Diseases ; complications ; surgery ; Thoracoscopy

Peripheral nerve injury frequently leads to neuropathic pain like hyperalgesia, spontaneous pain, mechanical allodynia, thermal allodynia. It is uncertain where the neuropathic pain originates and how it is transmitted to the central nervous system. This study was performed in order to determine which peripheral component may lead to the symptoms of neuropathic pain. Under halothane anesthesia, male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to neuropathic surgery by tightly ligating and cutting the tibial and sural nerves and leaving the common peroneal nerve intact. Behavioral tests for mechanical allodynia, thermal allodynia, and spontaneous pain were performed for 2 weeks postoperatively. Subsequently, second operation was performed as follows: in experiment 1, the neuroma was removed; in experiment 2, the dorsal roots of the L4-L6 spinal segments were cut; in experiment 3, the dorsal roots of the L2-L6 spinal segments were cut. Behavioral tests were performed for 4 weeks after the second operation. Following the removal of the neuroma, neuropathic pain remained in experiment 1. After the cutting of the L4-L6 or L2-L6 dorsal roots, neuropathic pain was reduced in experiments 2 and 3. The most remarkable relief was seen after the cutting of the L2-L6 dorsal roots in experiment 3. According to the fact that the sciatic nerve is composed of the L4-L6 spinal nerves and the femoral nerve is composed of the L2-L4 spinal nerves, neuropathic pain is transmitted to the central nervous system via not only the injured nerves but also adjacent intact nerves. These results also suggest that the dorsal root ganglion is very important in the development of neuropathic pain syndrome.
Animal ; Ganglia, Spinal/physiopathology ; Male ; Nervous System Diseases/physiopathology* ; Nervous System Diseases/complications ; Pain/physiopathology* ; Pain/etiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Nerve Roots/physiopathology ; Spinal Nerves/physiopathology

Male sexual function requires an intricate interplay between the man and his environment. Cognitive integration and physiological response to sexual stimulation is dependent on complex neurologic functions that may be impaired by central or peripheral neurologic disorders. This article reviews the normal neuroanatomy of sexual functioning in men, and the epidemiology, pathophysiology and management of sexual dysfunction in spinal cord injury, cerebrovascular accident, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
Erectile Dysfunction ; epidemiology ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Multiple Sclerosis ; complications ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; complications ; Parkinson Disease ; complications ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; complications ; Stroke ; complications

OBJECTIVE: We retrospectively analyzed correlation of the development of radiologic adjacent segment degeneration (ASD), clinical outcome, and the vertebral level of fusion in two-level posterior lumbar fusion cases. Furthermore, risk factors of ASD were investigated. METHODS: From 2000 to 2007, a total of 50 patients were evaluated. Their mean age was 55.0 years and mean follow-up period was 52.7 months. The patients were divided into two groups according to the vertebral level of the fused segment. Group I included 35 patients with L3-4-5 fusion, while 15 patients with L4-5-S1 fusion were categorized into group II. The patients were also divided into two groups, according to the development of ASD. Odom's criteria was used to study clinical outcome, and Cobb's angle was used to evaluate radiologic outcome RESULTS: Of 50 patients, radiologic ASD was found in 24 (48.0%) patients. Group I showed 16 (45.7%) patients with ASD, while Group II showed 8 (53.3%) patients with ASD, and they did not show a significant difference in development of ASD and clinical outcome. Clinical outcome of patients with ASD and the ones without ASD did not show significant difference. Meanwhile, patients with ASD were older and showed decrease of the lordotic angle, as well as significant hypermobility in the cranial adjacent segment, during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Different vertebral regions of fusion in two-level posterior lumbar fusion did not show significant difference in development of radiologic ASD and clinical outcome. In the development of ASD, decrease of the lordotic angle, hypermobility in the cranial adjacent segment and age were significant factors.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sacrum ; Spinal Diseases ; Spinal Fusion

OBJECTIVETo confirm diagnosis of a special case with chief complaints of abdominal pain and dyskinesia of lower extremities.

METHODSThe clinical symptoms, signs, MRI, pathological findings and the results of blood test for microfilaria were analyzed.

RESULTSThe patient was a 6-year old girl who had abdominal pain for 10 days dyskinesia of lower extremities for 6 days accompanied by difficulty in urination and defecation. There was tenderness on T7-9 spinous process, sensory dullness below the umbilicus. Babinski's and Oppenheim's sign were bilaterally positive, and ankle clonus was positive. MRI showed space occupying change in the vertebral canal at T7-9 level. The mass of 2 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm size was removed by surgical operation and histopathological study showed obvious fibrous tissue proliferation accompanied by eosinophil, lymphocyte and neutrophil infiltration around a worm-like structure. Night time blood test performed at 23:00 confirmed the presence of microfilaria.

CONCLUSIONThe diagnosis of filariae in vertebral canal could be confirmed.

Animals ; Child ; Female ; Filariasis ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; complications ; Filarioidea ; Humans ; Spinal Canal ; parasitology ; pathology ; Spinal Diseases ; etiology ; parasitology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of cervical vertebrae degeneration on traumatic cervical cord injury.

METHODSFrom January 2009 to December 2010, 24 patients with cervical cord injury without obvious fractures and dislocations were treated with operation, and their data were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 16 males and 8 females, aged from 46 to 70 years old with an average of 59.1 years. Patients were divided into light degeneration group (6 cases), moderate degeneration group (10 cases) and severe degeneration group (8 cases), according to the preoperative degenerative degree of cervical vertebrae. Preoperative neurological dysfunction and postoperative neurological recovery were compared according to the JOA scores of Japanese Orthopaedic Society; quality of life were evaluated according to SF-36 scale (36-item Short Form Health Survey, SF-36).

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 4 to 16 months with an average of 12 months. The JOA score of light, moderate, severe degeneration group were 12.1 +/- 1.5, 10.3 +/- 1.8, 7.3 +/- 1.0, respectively; and were respectively increased to 16.3 +/- 1.0, 15.3 +/- 1.4, 13.0 +/- 2.3 at the 3 months after operation. Postoperative JOA score showed the improvement rate of mid-long-term neurological level was light degeneration group (89.8%) > moderate degeneration group (76.6%) > severe degeneration group (58.8%). The results of preoperative SF-36 scale showed light degeneration group > moderate degeneration group > severe degeneration group; there was significant difference in comparison of two groups (P < 0.05 ).

CONCLUSIONCervical degeneration is an important pathologic basis and risk factor in traumatic cervical cord injury, and the degenerative degree will directly influence the injury degree and prognosis of neurological function, the clinical relationship between them should be sufficiently paid attention to.

Aged ; Cervical Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; surgery ; Spinal Diseases ; complications

Cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy are common pathologies that often improve with spinal decompression and fusion. Postoperative complications include pseudarthrosis, which can be challenging to diagnose and manage. We reviewed the literature with regard to risk factors, diagnosis, controversies, and management of cervical pseudarthrosis.
Decompression ; Diagnosis* ; Pathology ; Postoperative Complications ; Pseudarthrosis* ; Radiculopathy ; Risk Factors* ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spine*