Humans ; Epidural Abscess/etiology* ; Acupuncture Therapy/adverse effects* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/adverse effects* ; Epidural Space ; Spinal Diseases

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical research progress of spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL). METHODS: The clinical studies on SEL at home and abroad in recent years were extensively reviewed, and the pathogenesis, clinical and imaging manifestations, and treatment status of SEL were summarized and analyzed. RESULTS: SEL is a disease characterized by compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots due to abnormal accumulation of epidural adipose tissue in the spinal canal. Its prevalence and diagnosis rate are low and the pathogenesis is not fully understood. MRI is the most sensitive and specific diagnostic test for SEL. Surgical decompression and removal of excess adipose tissue are the only options for patients with acute SEL or those who have failed conservative management, and conservative management should be considered for other patients. CONCLUSION SEL is a rare disease and related research still needs to be improved. In the future, high-quality, multi-center and large-sample studies will be of great significance for evaluating the choice of treatment methods and effectiveness of SEL patients.
Humans ; Decompression, Surgical/methods* ; Epidural Space/surgery* ; Lipomatosis/surgery* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Spinal Cord Diseases/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of unilateral interlaminar approach 270° circular spinal canal decompression under the Interlaminar Endoscopic Surgical System(iLESSYS) Delta for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) in the elderly. METHODS: Total of 29 patients with LSS treated with the iLESSYS Delta from December 2018 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including 12 males and 17 females with an average age of (71.52±10.82) years old ranging from 63 to 83 years old. All patients had definite intermittent claudication, mainly neurogenic symptoms of both lower limbs. All patients had single-level spinal stenosis, including L_3,4 5 cases, L_4,5 21 cases, and L₅S₁ 3 cases. Visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and modified Macnab assessment criteria were used to evaluate pain, low back pain dysfunction index and clinical efficacy, respectively. RESULTS: All 29 cases were successfully completed. The operation time was (73.45±5.89) min, the intraoperative blood loss was (9.93±0.83) ml, the hospital stay was (4.03±0.41) days, and the follow-up was more than 12 months. The VAS scores of low back pain before surgery and 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, 1 year after surgery were 2.31±0.88, 1.45±0.62, 1.21±0.61, 1.10±0.55, 1.03±0.49;VAS of leg pain were 6.48±0.49 0.56, 1.97±0.61, 1.31±0.59, 1.17±0.59, 1.10±0.55;ODI scores were 38.41±2.74, 18.14±1.17, 5.17±0.53, 5.07±0.45, 4.90±0.48;low back and leg pain VAS score and ODI score have statistically significant differences between preoperative and postoperative follow-up time points (P<0.05). The MacNab efficacy evaluation at 1-year follow-up:excellent in 22 cases, good in 5 cases and fair in 2 cases. CONCLUSION The clinical effect of unilateral interlaminar approach 270° circular spinal canal decompression under the iLESSYS Delta for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis in the elderly is satisfactory, with the advantages of less trauma and less bleeding, large microscopic operation space, sufficient decompression, and ideal post-operative recovery, and at the same time, it can minimize the damage to the stable structure of the lumbar spine, which is an ideal surgical method for the treatment of elderly lumbar spinal stenosis.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Spinal Stenosis/surgery* ; Low Back Pain ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Canal/surgery* ; Decompression, Surgical/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of different administration methods of tranexamic acid(TXA) on the perioperative blood loss, hidden blood loss, transfusion rate and adverse reactions in lumbar spinal decompression and fusion. METHODS: Sixty patients who received lumbar spinal canal decompression and fusion from July 2019 to July 2020 were enrolled and divided into observation group and control group, with 30 cases in each group. The observation group was given 2 g TXA orally at 2 hours before operation, control group was given 1 g TXA for 5-10 min before skin incision and 6 hours after operation intravenously. The intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, total blood loss, hidden blood loss, drainage tube removal time, blood transfusion rate, venous thrombosis rate, adverse event rate were recorded respectively. The changes of hemoglobin(Hb) and hematocrit (HCT) were observed before operation and 1, 3 days after operation. RESULTS: Hb and HCT at 1 and 3 days after operation were significantly improved compared with those before operation(P<0.01). However, there was no significant difference between the groups(P>0.05). There were no significant difference in amount of blood loss, postoperative drainage, total blood loss, intraoperative blood loss, hidden blood loss, postoperative drainage time, and blood transfusion rate between two groups (P>0.05). There were no venous thrombosis and adverse events occurred in both groups. CONCLUSION During the perioperative period of lumbar spinal decompression and fusion, oral TXA and intravenous TXA have the same effect in reducing perioperative blood loss and are safe and reliable. It is recommended that oral TXA be used to save medical costs and convenience.
Antifibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Blood Loss, Surgical/prevention & control* ; Decompression ; Humans ; Postoperative Hemorrhage ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Fusion/methods* ; Tranexamic Acid/therapeutic use* ; Venous Thrombosis/etiology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the minimally invasive surgical method for cervical_1-2 epidural neurilemmoma. METHODS: The clinical features, imaging characteristics and surgical methods of 63 cases of cervical_1-2 epidural neurilemmoma from July 2010 to December 2018 were reviewed and analyzed. Pain and numbness in occipitocervical region were the common clinical symptoms. There were 58 cases with pain, 30 cases with numbness, 3 cases with limb weakness and 2 cases with asymptomatic mass. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the tumors located in the cervical_1-2 epidural space with diameter of 1-3 cm. The equal or slightly lower T₁ and equal or slightly higher T₂ signals were found on MRI. The tumors had obvious enhancement. Individualized laminotomy was performed according to the location and size of the tumors, and axis spinous processes were preserved as far as possible. Resection of tumor was performed strictly within the capsule. RESULTS: Total and subtotal resection of tumor were achieved in 60 and 3 cases respectively, and no vertebral artery injury was found. The operation time ranged from 60 to 180 minutes, with an average of 92.83 minutes. The hospitalization time ranged from 3 to 9 days, with an average of 5.97 days. All tumors were confirmed as neurilemmoma by pathology. There was no postoperative infection or cerebrospinal fluid leakage. There was no new-onset dysfunction except 9 cases of numbness in the nerve innervation area. The period of follow-up ranged from 6 months to 8 years (median: 3 years). All the new-onset dysfunction recovered completely. Pain disappeared in all of the 58 patients with pain. Numbness recovered completely in 27 patients while slight numbness remained in another 3 patients. Three patients with muscle weakness recovered completely. The spinal function of all the patients restored to McCormick grade Ⅰ. No recurrence was found on MRI. No cervical spine instability or deformity was found on X-rays. CONCLUSION It is feasible to resect cervical_1-2 epidural neurilemmoma by full use of the anatomical space between atlas and axis and individual laminotomy. It is helpful to prevent cervical instability or deformity by minimizing the destruction of cervical₂ bone and preserving normal muscle attachment to cervical₂ spinous process. Strict intracapsular resection can effectively prevent vertebral artery injury.
Epidural Space/surgery* ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neurilemmoma/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effect between electroacupuncture (EA) at Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) and epidural nerve block for preemptive analgesia in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. METHODS: Sixty patients with elective radical esophagectomy were randomly divided into a group A, a group B and a control group, 20 cases in each group. The patients in the group A were treated with injection of 20 mL 0.375% ropivacaine at epidural space 30 min before anesthesia induction, followed by normal anesthesia during operation; the patients in the group B were treated with 30 min EA at bilateral Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) before anesthesia induction, followed by normal anesthesia during operation; the patients in the control group were treated with general anesthesia alone. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia was applied for all the patients. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded at the following time points: before acupuncture/epidural puncture (T RESULTS: The MAP at T CONCLUSION The preemptive analgesia of EA at Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) and epidural nerve block could both provide effective perioperative analgesia for thoracic surgery. The EA could better maintain intraoperative hemodynamics and has less physiological disturbance.
Anesthesia, General ; Electroacupuncture ; Epidural Space ; Humans ; Nerve Block ; Thoracic Surgery

This article aims to study the factors affecting the flexibility of the tip of an epidural anesthesia catheter. The flexibility of the tip of the epidural anesthesia catheter was tested with a softness tester from four aspects:raw materials, tip structure, tip processing technology, and the outer diameter of the catheter. Highly flexible and malleable polymer material with a smooth tip, the tip softening process and the proper outer diameter can effectively improve the tip flexibility of the epidural anesthesia catheter.
Anesthesia, Epidural ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Epidural Space

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of anterolateral spinal canal decompression combined with short segment screw fixation with posterior approach for severe thoracolumbar burst fractures with spinal cord injury. METHODS: From January 2016 to June 2018, 16 patients with severe thoracolumbar burst fractures (more than 50% of ratio of spinal canal encroachment, reverse fragment at the posterior edge of the vertebral body) with spinal cord injury were retrospectively analyzed, including 10 males and 6 females, ranging in age from 19 to 57 years old. Causes of injury:8 cases of fall injury, 6 cases of traffic accident injury and 2 cases of other injuries. Fracture site:T RESULTS: All 16 patients were followed up, and the average follow up time was (15.9±5.4) months. The average operation time was (234±41) minutes and the average amount of bleeding was (431±93) ml. The loss of anterior height of injured vertebrae was (52.25±10.10)% before operation, (8.93± 3.61)% at 3 days after operation, and (9.25±2.88)% at the latest follow up. The results of 3 days after operation and the latest follow up were better than that before operation, and there was no significant differencesbetween results at the latest follow up and 3 days after operation ( CONCLUSION For severe thoracolumbar burst fracture and spinal cord injury, with more than 50% of ratio of spinal canal encroachment and reverse fragment at the posterior edge of the vertebral body, the anterolateral spinal canal decompression combined with short segment screw fixation with posterior approach has the characteristics of accurate reduction, complete decompression and firm fixation, and the clinical effect is satisfactory.
Adult ; Bone Screws ; Decompression ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Cord Injuries/surgery* ; Spinal Fractures/surgery* ; Thoracic Vertebrae/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric epidurals can present technical challenges due to wide variations in age and weight among children, ranging from neonates to teenagers. This study evaluated the skin-to-epidural distance in the thoracic and lumbar regions to determine the relationship between age, weight and ethnicity and depth to the epidural space in our Singapore paediatric population. METHODS: Data from the Acute Pain Service was prospectively collected over 16 years. Details included patient demographics, level of epidural performed and distance from skin to epidural space. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to determine the association of weight, age, ethnicity and gender with the depths to the thoracic and lumbar epidural spaces. A simple linear regression was calculated to predict the depth to both thoracic and lumbar epidural spaces based on body weight. Equations were formulated to describe the relationship between weight and depth of epidural space. RESULTS: A total of 616 midline epidurals were studied. Regression analysis was performed for 225 thoracic epidurals and 363 lumbar epidurals. Our study revealed a clear correlation between skin-to-lumbar epidural distance and weight in children. The best correlation was demonstrated between skin-to-lumbar epidural distance and body weight (R = 0.729). This relationship was described by the formula: depth (mm) = (0.63 × weight [kg]) + 9.2. CONCLUSION Skin-to-lumbar epidural distance correlated with weight in children. Our results highlighted the clinical significance of differences between Southeast Asian paediatric populations when compared to other populations.
Adolescent ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; adverse effects ; methods ; Body Weight ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Epidural Space ; anatomy & histology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; anatomy & histology ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pain Management ; methods ; Pediatrics ; methods ; Regression Analysis ; Singapore ; Skin ; anatomy & histology ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; anatomy & histology

Aged ; Bone Marrow ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Epidural Space ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Sarcoma, Myeloid ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Spinal Cord Compression ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology