Aims. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and prognosis of patients with spinal metastasis as the initial manifestation of malignancy (SM-IMM). Patients and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of 338 patients who underwent surgical treatment for metastatic spinal disease. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups. The SM-IMM group included patients with no history of malignancy whose site of primary malignancy was diagnosed after the identification of spinal metastasis. The other group included patients with a history of treatment for primary malignancy who then developed spinal metastasis (SM-DTM). The incidence of SM-IMM by site of primary malignancy was calculated. The difference between prognoses after surgical treatment for SM-IMM and SM-DTM was established. Results. The median follow-up period was 11.5 months (interquartile range (IQR) 3.2 to 13.4) after surgical treatment. During the follow-up period, 264 patients died; 74 patients survived. The SM-IMM group consisted of 94 patients (27.8%). The site of primary malignancy in the SM-IMM group was lung in 35/103 patients (34.0%), liver in 8/45 patients (17.8%), kidney in 10/33 patients (30.3%), colorectum in 3/29 patients (10.3%), breast in 3/22 patients (13.6%), prostate in 3/10 patients (30%), thyroid in 4/8 patients (50%), and ‘other’ in 28/88 patients (31.8%). On Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, the SM-IMM group showed a significantly longer survival than the SM-DTM group (p = 0.013). The mean survival time was 23.0 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 15.5 to 30.5) in the SM-IMM group and 15.5 months (95% CI 11.8 to 19.2) in the SM-DTM group. Conclusion. Of the 338 enrolled patients who underwent surgical treatment for spinal metastasis, 94 patients (27.8%) underwent surgical treatment for SM-IMM. The SM-IMM group had an acceptable prognosis with surgical treatment. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:1379–1384

Aims. Frailty has been gathering attention as a factor to predict surgical outcomes. However, the association of frailty with postoperative complications remains controversial in spinal metastases surgery. We therefore designed a prospective study to elucidate risk factors for postoperative complications with a focus on frailty. Methods. We prospectively analyzed 241 patients with spinal metastasis who underwent palliative surgery from June 2015 to December 2021. Postoperative complications were assessed by the Clavien-Dindo classification; scores of ≥ Grade II were defined as complications. Data were collected regarding demographics (age, sex, BMI, and primary cancer) and preoperative clinical factors (new Katagiri score, Frankel grade, performance status, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, spinal instability neoplastic score, modified Frailty Index-11 (mFI), diabetes, and serum albumin levels). Univariate and multivariate analyses were developed to identify risk factors for postoperative complications (p < 0.05). Results. Overall, 57 postoperative complications occurred in 47 of 241 (19.5%) patients. The most common complications were wound infection/dehiscence, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia. Univariate analysis identified preoperative radiotherapy (p = 0.028), mFI (p < 0.001), blood loss ≥ 500 ml (p = 0.016), and preoperative molecular targeted drugs (p = 0.030) as potential risk factors. From the receiver operating characteristic curve, the clinically optimal cut-off value of mFI was 0.27 (sensitivity, 46.8%; specificity, 79.9%). Multivariate analysis identified mFI ≥ 0.27 (odds ratio (OR) 2.94 (95% CI 1.44 to 5.98); p = 0.003) and preoperative radiotherapy (OR 2.11 (95% CI 1.00 to 4.46); p = 0.049) as significant risk factors. In particular, urinary tract infection (p = 0.012) and pneumonia (p = 0.037) were associated with mFI ≥ 0.27. Furthermore, the severity of postoperative complications was positively correlated with mFI (p < 0.001). Conclusion. The mFI is a useful tool to predict the incidence and the severity of postoperative complications in spinal metastases surgery. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2024;106-B(12):1469–1476

Aims. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and characteristics of instrumentation failure (IF) after total en bloc spondylectomy (TES), and to analyze risk factors for IF. Methods. The medical records from 136 patients (65 male, 71 female) with a mean age of 52.7 years (14 to 80) who underwent TES were retrospectively reviewed. The mean follow-up period was 101 months (36 to 232). Analyzed factors included incidence of IF, age, sex, BMI, history of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, tumour histology (primary or metastasis; benign or malignant), surgical approach (posterior or combined), tumour location (thoracic or lumbar; junctional or non-junctional), number of resected vertebrae (single or multilevel), anterior resection line (disc-to-disc or intravertebra), type of bone graft (autograft or frozen autograft), cage subsidence (CS), and local alignment (LA). A survival analysis of the instrumentation was performed, and relationships between IF and other factors were investigated using the Cox regression model. Results. A total of 44 patients (32.4%) developed IF at a median of 31 months (interquartile range 23 to 74) following TES. Most IFs were rod fractures preceded by a mean CS of 6.1 mm (2 to 18) and LA kyphotic enhancement of 10.8° (-1 to 36). IF-free survival rates were 75.8% at five years and 56.9% at ten years. The interval from TES to IF peaked at two to three years postoperatively and continued to occur over a period of time thereafter; the early IF-developing group had greater CS at one month postoperatively (CS1M) and more lumbar TES. CS1M ≥ 3 mm and sole use of frozen autografts were identified as independent risk factors for IF. Conclusion. IF is a common complication following TES. We have demonstrated that robust spinal reconstruction preventing CS, and high-quality bone grafting are necessary for successful reconstruction. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2023;105-B(2):172–179

Aims

Patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTCs) have a favourable long-term survival. Spinal metastases (SMs) cause a decline in performance status (PS), directly affecting mortality and indirectly preventing the use of systemic therapies. Metastasectomy is indicated, if feasible, as it yields the best local tumour control. Our study aimed to examine the long-term clinical outcomes of metastasectomy for SMs of thyroid carcinomas.

Patients with solitary spinal metastases from Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) have better prognosis and survival rates compared to other spinal metastatic disease. Adjuvant therapy has been proven ineffective. Selected patients can be treated with Total En bloc Spondylectomy (TES) for solitary intra-osseous metastasis in the thoracolumbar spine secondary to renal cell carcinoma. Five patients with solitary vertebral metastasis secondary to RCC underwent TES for radical resection of the spinal pathology after pre-operative embolisation. The procedure involves en bloc laminectomy and corpectomy with posterior instrumented fusion and anterior instrumentation with cage reconstruction following the spondylectomy. All patients were fully staged pre-operatively and assessed according to the Tokuhashi scoring system. Recurrence of spinal metastasis and radiological failure of reconstruction. All patients demonstrated full neurological recovery and reported significant pain relief. One patient died at 11 months post-op due to a recurrence of the primary. The other four are well at 24, 45, 52 and 66 months post-op without evidence of recurrence in the spine. There were no major surgical complications. Careful patient selection is required to justify this procedure. The indication is limited to solitary intra-osseous lesions where complete resection of the tumour is possible. The main advantage of this treatment is that it affords significant pain relief and restores spinal stability whilst minimizing local recurrence

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In this investigation, we administered oxidative stress to nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), recognized DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) as a component in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), and devised a hydrogel capable of conveying small interfering RNA (siRNA) to IVDD.

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The aims of this study were to determine the diagnostic yield of image-guided biopsy in providing a final diagnosis in patients with suspected infectious spondylodiscitis, to report the diagnostic accuracy of various microbiological tests and histological examinations in these patients, and to report the epidemiology of infectious spondylodiscitis from a country where tuberculosis (TB) is endemic, including the incidence of drug-resistant TB.

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To evaluate the perioperative complications associated with total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) in patients with spinal tumours, based on the extent and level of tumour resection.

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With recent progress in cancer treatment, the number of advanced-age patients with spinal metastases has been increasing. It is important to clarify the influence of advanced age on outcomes following surgery for spinal metastases, especially with a focus on subjective health state values.

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Although lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) are well-documented, few large-scale studies have investigated thoracolumbar transitional vertebrae (TLTV) and spinal numerical variants. This study sought to establish the prevalence of numerical variants and to evaluate their relationship with clinical problems.

The study was conducted to review the outcome in cases of anterior expandable interbody cages inserted through a posterior only approach. Cases selected were the anterior cage insertion and posterior stabilization patients managed by posterior only approach. Study includes the patients of various pathologies requiring 3 column support. Twenty patients were included in study. Pathology in 9 patients was tuberculosis, trauma in 3, tumours in 3, metastasis in 3 and deformities in 2patients. Patients with or without neurological deficit were included. Cases were carefully assessed and patients with single level involvement were included as more then single level involvement required more extensive exposure and possible nerve root sacrifice. Detailed neurological status was recorded. The surgery was performed in prone position and after posterior stabilization by pedicle screws the extracavitatory approach was used to insert the expandable cage. In cases of suspicious pathologies the samples for histopathology and staining were collected. Morbidity, mortality blood loss, surgical time, complications, outcome of surgery were compared with historical controls of front and back surgery. The insertion of cages from posterior approach was feasible in all carefully planned cases. None of the patients had problem related to implant in form of cage displacement. All the patients had satisfactory outcome. Posterior stabilization of spine with expandable cage insertion from posterior approach saves the operating time, spares the additional surgical incision and blood loss without compromising the outcome. In carefully planned surgeries it gives excellent results irrespective of etiology

A prospective study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous kyphoplasty in patients with osteolytic tumours of thoracic and lumbar spine. To our knowledge this is the only study so far that has followed a cohort of patients prospectively until death. Prospective study of patients with lytic tumours of spine treated with kyphoplasty. A total of 13 patients with osteolytic tumours of spine were treated with kyhpoplasty. There were 8 female and 5 male patients. The age range was 52-81 years with average age of 65 years. A total of 25 vertebrae, from T2 to L3, were treated. The types of tumours included; non-Hodgkin lymphoma (2), myeloma (2), gastric-carcinoma (1), cervix-carcinoma (1), breast-carcinoma (3), prostate-carcinoma (2), small cell lung-carcinoma (1), bladder-carcinoma (1). Outcome was assessed prospectively by visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, ECOG performance status, walking distance, standing and sitting time. The preoperative average VAS was 7.5 (range: 2.6 – 10). This dropped to 3.0 five days postoperatively and remained below 5 for the duration of follow-up. Average walking distance, standing and sitting time and ECOG performance score showed improvement. The survival time ranged from 2 to 293 weeks. The average survival time was 82 weeks. All patients were able to return home following the procedure. No patient required reoperation or readmission for spinal metastasis. Kyphoplasty is a suitable palliative treatment option for patients with advanced metastatic disease of the spine

Purpose. Distinguishing between sequestered disc fragments and tumours remains a diagnostic challenge, but one of paramount importance given the surgical management of these two clinical entities varies dramatically. Methods. Our experience over the last 3 years in managing this clinical challenge was analyzed. Patients referred to the regional neurosurgical unit for evaluation of possible spinal tumours whose imaging and clinical findings were atypical, were prospectively identified and the medical notes, operative records and MR imaging reviewed. Results. This is the single largest series of patients presenting as tumors that were later determined to be sequestered disc fragments. 17 patients(8 female and 9 male) were identified. The median age was 54 years (range 35-77) and the mean follow up time 20 months. The most common location (16/17) for discs mimicking tumours in our series was in the lumbar spine. The major differential diagnosis was of nerve sheath tumours, followed by metastasis. The signal characteristics of the lesions and contrast enhancement were variable. 35% of patients had the lesion surgically excised and the diagnosis of intervertebral disc made intraoperatively or on histology. The remainder were monitored clinically and with MR imaging, and required no surgical intervention in the follow up period. The features that favoured a diagnosis of disc rather than tumour included a rapid onset of symptoms and abatement of pain with time. Radiologically, sequestered disc was more likely if the lesion demonstrated contiguity with the disc space, the presence of other degenerate discs, no foraminal exit widening, and the absence of central enhancement. Conclusion. Urgent surgery is not mandatory and in our series a “watch and wait” approach was utilized safely. When atypical clinical and imaging findings are present in patients referred for management of spinal tumours, sequestered disc fragments should be considered as a possibility

Background. Minimally invasive surgery is an alternative therapeutic option for treating unstable spinal pathologies to reduce approach-related morbidity inherent to conventional open surgery. Objective. To compare the safety and therapeutic efficacy of percutaneous fixation to that of open posterior spinal stabilisation for instabilities of the thoraolumbar spine. Study Design. Comparison study of prospective historical cohort versus retrospective historical control at a tertiary care centre. Methods. Patients who underwent open or percutaneous posterior fixation for thoracic-lumbar instabilities secondary to metastasis, infection and acute trauma were included. Minimally access non traumatic instrumentation system (MANTIS) was used for percutaneous stabilisation. Outcome Measures. The differences in surgery-related parameters including operative time, blood loss, radiation exposure time, analgesia requirement, screw related problems and length of hospitalisation between the groups were analyzed. Results. There were a total of 50 patients with 25 in each group. There were no significant differences concerning age, sex, ASA, pathology causing instability, level and number of segments stabilised between the groups. There were significant differences between the MANTIS and open group in terms of blood loss (492 versus 925 ml, p<0.0001), post-op analgesia requirement (33 versus 45 mg/day of morphine, p<0.0004) and length of hospital stay for trauma sub-group of patients (6.2 versus 9.6 days, p< 0.0008). Average operative time of the MANTIS group was 190.2 minutes, not significantly longer to that of the conventional open group (183.84 minutes, p>0.05) Open group patients had less radiation exposure (average of 0.6 minutes) compared to MANTIS cohort (3.1 minutes). There were 2 patients with screw misplacements comprising one from each group that needing revision. Conclusion. Percutaneous spinal stabilisation using mini-invasive system is a good surgical therapeutic choice in thoracic-lumbar instabilities. It has the advantage of less trauma, quick recovery and shortened hospital stay with accuracy of screw placement as similar to those reported for other techniques. Indications and limitations of this technique must be carefully identified. Interest Statement. There was no commercial support or funding of any sort

The skeleton is the most common site to be affected by metastatic cancer. The place of surgical treatment and of different techniques of reconstruction has not been clearly defined. We have studied the rate of survival of 94 patients and the results of the surgical treatment of 91 metastases of the limbs and pelvis, and 18 of the spine. Variables included the different primary tumours, the metastatic load at the time of operation, the surgical margin, and the different techniques of reconstruction. The survival rate was 0.54 at one year and 0.27 at three years. Absence of visceral metastases and of a pathological fracture, a time interval of more than three years between the diagnosis of cancer and that of the first skeletal metastasis, thyroid carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, renal-cell carcinoma, breast cancer, and plasmacytoma were positive variables with regard to survival. The metastatic load of the skeleton and the surgical margin were not of significant influence. In tumours of the limbs and pelvis, the local failure rate was 0% after biological reconstruction (10), 3.6% after cemented or uncemented osteosynthesis (28) and 1.8% after prosthetic replacement (53). The local failure rate after stabilisation of the spine (18) was 16.6%. There was local recurrence in seven patients (6.4%), and in four of these the primary tumour was a renal-cell carcinoma. The local recurrence rate was 0% after extralesional (24) and 8.2% after intralesional resection (85). Improvements in the oncological management of patients with primary and metastatic disease have resulted in an increased survival rate. In order to avoid additional surgery, it is essential to consider the expected time of survival of the reconstruction and, in bony metastases with a potentially poor response to radiotherapy, the surgical margin

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The current pandemic caused by COVID-19 is the biggest challenge for national health systems for a century. While most medical resources are allocated to treat COVID-19 patients, several non-COVID-19 medical emergencies still need to be treated, including vertebral fractures and spinal cord compression. The aim of this paper is to report the early experience and an organizational protocol for emergency spinal surgery currently being used in a large metropolitan area by an integrated team of orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons.

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The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic utility of histological analysis in spinal biopsies for spondylodiscitis (SD).

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We aimed to retrospectively assess the accuracy and safety of CT navigated pedicle screws and to compare accuracy in the cervical and thoracic spine (C2-T8) with (COMB) and without (POST) prior anterior surgery (anterior cervical discectomy or corpectomy and fusion with ventral plating: ACDF/ACCF).

The widespread use of MRI has revolutionised the diagnostic process for spinal disorders. A typical protocol for spinal MRI includes T1 and T2 weighted sequences in both axial and sagittal planes. While such an imaging protocol is appropriate to detect pathological processes in the vast majority of patients, a number of additional sequences and advanced techniques are emerging. The purpose of the article is to discuss both established techniques that are gaining popularity in the field of spinal imaging and to introduce some of the more novel ‘advanced’ MRI sequences with examples to highlight their potential uses.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:1683–92.

Using the United States Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we identified national trends in revision spinal fusion along with a comprehensive comparison of comorbidities, inpatient complications and surgical factors of revision spinal fusion compared to primary spinal fusion.

In 2009, there were 410 158 primary spinal fusion discharges and 22 128 revision spinal fusion discharges. Between 2002 and 2009, primary fusion increased at a higher rate compared with revision fusion (56.4% vs 51.0%; p < 0.001). In 2009, the mean length of stay and hospital charges were higher for revision fusion discharges than for primary fusion discharges (4.2 days vs 3.8 days, p < 0.001; USD $91 909 vs. $87 161, p < 0.001). In 2009, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) was used more in revision fusion than in primary fusion (39.6% vs 27.6%, p < 0.001), whereas interbody devices were used less in revision fusion (41.8% vs 56.6%, p < 0.001).

In the multivariable logistic regression model for all spinal fusions, depression (odds ratio (OR) 1.53, p < 0.001), psychotic disorders (OR 1.49, p < 0.001), deficiency anaemias (OR 1.35, p < 0.001) and smoking (OR 1.10, p = 0.006) had a greater chance of occurrence in revision spinal fusion discharges than in primary fusion discharges, adjusting for other variables. In terms of complications, after adjusting for all significant comorbidities, this study found that dural tears (OR 1.41; p < 0.001) and surgical site infections (OR 3.40; p < 0.001) had a greater chance of occurrence in revision spinal fusion discharges than in primary fusion discharges (p < 0.001). A p-value < 0.01 was considered significant in all final analyses.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:807–16.