OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the relationship between sagittal spinal alignment in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS) and objective findings such as spinopelvic parameters, lumbar back muscle degeneration, and clinical data. The purpose of this study was to identify the preoperative clinical and radiological factors that predict improvement in sagittal spinal alignment after decompressive surgery in patients with LSS. METHODS: The records of 61 patients with LSS who underwent microendoscopic laminotomy and had pre- and postoperative clinical data collected were retrospectively reviewed. Spinopelvic parameters, including sagittal vertical axis (SVA), lumbar lordosis (LL), sacral slope, pelvic tilt, and pelvic incidence (PI), were evaluated. On T2-weighted MRI, the cross-sectional area and the percentage of fat infiltration of the paravertebral muscles (PVMs) before surgery were calculated. For patients with preoperative SVA > 40 mm (n = 30), the correlation between SVA improvement and preoperative clinical and radiographic parameters was calculated. RESULTS: SVA improvement correlated with preoperative LL (r = −0.39) and PI –LL (r = 0.54). Multiple regression analysis showed that preoperative PI –LL (beta = 0.62; p < 0.01) and symptom duration (beta = −0.40; p < 0.05) were independently associated with SVA improvement. The percentage of fat infiltration of the PVM at L4–5 was significantly greater in patients with preoperative SVA ≥ 40 mm than in those patients with SVA < 40 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative PI –LL and symptom duration were independently associated with SVA improvement in LSS patients with forward-bending posture. PVM degeneration at the lower lumbar level was significantly greater among patients with preoperative SVA ≥ 40 mm than in patients with SVA < 40 mm.

Study DesignRetrospective cohort study.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in patients with spinal diseases determined by roentgen images of the whole spine.Overview of LiteratureAlthough several studies have investigated the prevalence of DISH in healthy subjects, no detailed data have been reported on the prevalence of DISH in patients with degenerative spinal disorders.MethodsStanding whole-spine roentgen images of 345 consecutive patients who underwent surgery in our hospital were obtained. Patients aged <18 years or with congenital spinal disease, metastatic spinal tumors, or inflammatory spinal disease were excluded. In total, 281 patients were eligible for inclusion. The presence of DISH was assessed according to Resnick's criteria and Mata's scoring system. The prevalence, location, and numbers of fused vertebral bodies of DISH were recorded.ResultsDISH was present in 25.6% of patients (72/281). The prevalence of DISH in the 41–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and ≥80 year age groups was 8.3% (2/24), 9.8% (5/51), 16.0% (12/75), 49.5% (48/97), and 33.3% (4/12), respectively; the prevalence increased with age. The average number of fused vertebral bodies was 7.5. More than 80% of DISH was located from T7 to T11, and more than 95% of DISH was located at T9/10. Patients with DISH were significantly older (71.1 years vs. 60.9 years, p<0.05), and men were more likely to have DISH than women (p<0.05).ConclusionsIn patients with degenerative spinal diseases with DISH, fused vertebrae were found most frequently in the lower thoracic spine, and their prevalence increased with age. DISH may be an age-related skeletal disorder with a higher overall prevalence in patients with spinal disorders than that in healthy subjects.

There has been no report regarding the results of two-level keyhole foraminotomy. The purpose of this study was to detail clinical outcomes following consecutive two-level cervical foraminotomy (tandem keyhole foraminotomy (TKF)) in patients with radiculopathy.

Medical treatment using non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP) is rapidly gaining recognition. NTAPP is thought to be a new therapeutic method because it could generate highly reactive species in an ambient atmosphere which could be exposed to biological targets (e.g., cells and tissues). If plasma-generated reactive species could stimulate bone regeneration, NTAPP can provide a new treatment opportunity in regenerative medicine. Here, we investigated the impact of NTAPP on bone regeneration using a large bone defect in New Zealand White rabbits and a simple atmospheric pressure plasma (helium microplasma jet). We observed the recovery progress of the large bone defects by X-ray imaging over eight weeks after surgery. The X-ray results showed a clear difference in the occupancy of the new bone of the large bone defect among groups with different plasma treatment times, whereas the new bone occupancy was not substantial in the untreated control group. According to the results of micro-computed tomography analysis at eight weeks, the most successful bone regeneration was achieved using a plasma treatment time of 10 min, wherein the new bone volume was 1.51 times larger than that in the plasma untreated control group. Using H&E and Masson trichrome stains, nucleated cells were uniformly observed, and no inclusion was confirmed, respectively, in the groups of plasma treatment. We concluded the critical large bone defect were filled with new bone. Overall, these results suggest that NTAPP is promising for fracture treatment.

Balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) sometimes fails to improve patients’ outcomes, with revision surgery, using anterior or posterior reconstruction, being required. The purpose of this study was to investigate the radiological risk factors of failure after BKP in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs). This case-control study included 105 patients treated with single BKP and 14 patients who required revision BKP. We evaluated radiological findings differentiating both groups, using plain radiography and computed tomography, before BKP. Angular flexion-extension motion was significantly greater in the revision than BKP group. While the frequency of pedicle fracture and posterior wall injury was not different between the groups, a split type fracture was more frequent in the revision group. Split type fracture had the highest adjusted odds ratio (OR) for revision (16.5, p = 0.018). Angular motion ≥14° increased the risk for revision surgery by 6-fold (p = 0.013), with endplate deficit having an OR of revision of 5.0 (p = 0.032). The revision rate after BKP was 3.8%, with split type fracture, greater angular motion and large endplate deficit being risk factors for revision. Treatment strategies for patients with these risk factors should be carefully evaluated, considering the inherent difficulties in performing revision surgery after BKP.