bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Atlantal lateral mass screws for posterior spinal reconstruction
Authors: Fiore Amory J. , Haid Regis W. , Rodts Gerald E. , Subach Brian R. , Mummaneni Praveen V. , Riedel Charles J. , Birch Barry D. 
Published: January 2008

Object
A variety of techniques may be used to achieve fixation of the upper cervical spine. Transarticular atlantoaxial screws, posterior interspinous cable and graft constructs, and interlaminar clamps have been used effectively to achieve atlantoaxial fixation. Various anatomical factors, however, may preclude the successful application of these techniques. These factors include aberrant vertebral artery anatomy, irreducible atlantoaxial subluxation, exaggerated cervicothoracic kyphosis, and the absence of the osseous substrate for fixation. In these cases, an alternative method of fixation must be performed. The authors present an alternative method to achieve fixation of the atlas in which lateral mass screws can be applied to atlantoaxial and occipitocervical fixation.

Methods
Between February 1998 and November 2001, eight patients who ranged in age from 16 to 74 years underwent posterior fixation for upper cervical instability. Diagnoses included C-2 metastastic disease in two patients, irreducible odontoid fractures in two patients, atlantoaxial subluxation in two patients, and transverse ligament synovial cyst in two patients. Various anatomical factors precluded transarticular atlantoaxial screw fixation in seven patients. One patient with a highly unstable spine due to a C-2 metastasis and pathological fracture underwent occipitocervical fusion.
Atlantocervical fixation was achieved in seven patients by using varying constructs incorporating C-1 lateral mass screws. Occipitocervical fixation was achieved in one patient by incorporating C-1 lateral mass screws as an additional fixation point. A total of 14 C-1 lateral mass screws were placed in eight patients. There were no intraoperative complications. In all patients rigid fixation was achieved as demonstrated on postoperative radiographs. One patient died on postoperative Day 9 of aspiration pneumonia. At a mean follow-up time of 7.4 months, rigid fixation was maintained in all patients.

Conclusions
Atlantal lateral mass screws can be used to provide a safe and efficacious means of achieving atlantoaxial fixation when anatomical constraints preclude the use of a more traditional procedure. Atlantal lateral mass screws may also be incorporated in occipitocervical constructs to provide additional fixation points which may prevent construct failure.
Posterior atlantoaxial stabilization: new alternative to C1–2 transarticular screws
Authors: Stokes John K. , Villavicencio Alan T. , Liu Paul C. , Bray Robert S. , Johnson J. Patrick 
Published: January 2008

Object
Surgical treatment of atlantoaxial instability has evolved to include various posterior wiring techniques including Brooks, Gallie, and Sonntag fusions in which success rates range from 60 to 100%. The Magerl–Seemans technique in which C1–2 transarticular screws are placed results in fusion rates between 87 and 100%. This procedure is technically demanding and requires precise knowledge of the course of the vertebral arteries (VAs). The authors introduce a new C1–2 fixation procedure in which C-1 lateral mass and C-2 pedicle screws are placed that may have advantages over C1–2 transarticular screw constructs.

Methods
A standard posterior C1–2 exposure is obtained. Polyaxial C-2 pedicle screws and C-1 lateral mass screws are placed bilaterally. Rods are connected to the screws and secured using locking nuts. A cross-link is then placed. Fusion can be performed at the atlantoaxial joint by elevating the C-2 nerve root.
The technique for this procedure has been used in four cases of atlantoaxial instability at the author's institution. There have been no C-2 nerve root– or VA-related injuries. No cases of construct failure have been observed in the short-term follow up period.

Conclusions
Atlantoaxial lateral mass and axial pedicle screw fixation offers an alternative means of achieving atlantoaxial fusion. The technique is less demanding than that required for transarticular screw placement and may avoid the potential complication of VA injury. The cross-linked construct is theoretically stable in flexion, extension, and rotation. Laminectomy or fracture of the posterior elements does not preclude use of this fixation procedure.
Anterior cervicothoracic junction corpectomy and plate fixation without sternotomy
Authors: Resnick Daniel K. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Exposure of the lower cervical and upper thoracic spinal regions through a cervical incision without sternotomy has been described in cases of anterior decompression and methylmethacrylate vertebral body reconstruction. The use of anterior instrumentation and structural bone grafts in this procedure has not been well described.

Methods
Twenty-one patients underwent anterior cervicothoracic decompression, fusion, and fixation via a low cervical approach. Eight of these patients underwent lower cervical or upper thoracic corpectomy (C7–T4) through the cervical incision. The decompressive procedure was followed by placement of an allograft bone strut and an anterior locking plate system.
No patient developed new neurological deficit related to the spinal cord or exiting nerve roots. Three of four patients with preoperative neurological deficits improved dramatically. Two patients developed recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, of which one was permanent. There was one case of instrumentation-related failure, and two patients developed a superficial wound infection related to a posterior incision made as part of a 360° fusion. Patients were followed for a mean of 18.5 months (range 2–30 months). Two patients died (of metastatic cancer, and a motor vehicle accident, respectively) during the follow-up period.

Conclusions
Anterior decompression, fusion, and fixation is feasible via a cervical incision. This procedural approach spares the patient the morbidity associated with sternotomy or the lateral extracavitary approach. A thorough preoperative assessment of mediastinal anatomy is essential for the safe execution of these procedures.
Results of halter cervical traction for the treatment of cervical radiculopathy: retrospective review of 81 patients
Authors: Olivero William C. , Dulebohn Scott C. 
Published: January 2008

Object
The percentage of patients responding to conservative treatment for cervical radiculopathy secondary to nerve root compression is not well quantified. To clarify this question, the authors retrospectively reviewed the records obtained over a 4-year period in patients with cervical radiculopathy to determine their response to conservative measures (cervical collar therapy and halter cervical traction).

Methods
Cervical radiculopathy was diagnosed in patients if they suffered from radiating arm pain made worse by neck movement and at least one of the following: reflex loss, dermatomal numbness, and/or myotomal weakness. Patients with neck pain alone or arm pain without neurological deficit were excluded from analysis. Those patients without excruciating pain, severe weakness, or evidence of myelopathy were offered a course of halter traction before surgery was to be considered. Ninety-six patients met the inclusion criteria; there were 61 males and 35 females, and the mean age was 47 years. Fifty-five patients presented with C-7, 37 with C-6, two with C-5, and two with C-8 radiculopathy. Eighty-one patients underwent a trial of traction that consisted of wearing a cervical collar and home-based halter cervical traction: 8 to 12 pounds, applied for 15 minutes, three times a day for 3 to 6 weeks The mean duration of symptoms prior to neurosurgical evaluation was 43 days ± 8.3 days (standard deviation). Sixty-three (78%) of 81 patients responded to therapeutic traction, experiencing significant or total pain relief, three could not tolerate the traction, and traction failed in 15 patients. Of the 81 patients in whom traction was undertaken, 78 underwent magnetic resonance imaging prior to being seen, which revealed herniated discs at the corresponding levels in 71 and foraminal stenosis in seven. Three of the 63 patients in whom an initial response to traction was noted suffered recurrence of symptoms and required surgery. It would appear that in patients in whom symptoms of cervical radiculopathy were present for approximately 6 weeks that 75% will respond to further conservative treatment (halter traction and cervical collar) over the next 6 weeks.
Factors affecting profitability for craniotomy
Authors: Popp A. John , Scrime Todd , Cohen Benjamin R. , Feustel Paul J. , Petronis Karen , Habiniak Sharon , Waldman John B. , Vosburgh Margaret M. 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors studied factors influencing hospital profitability after craniotomy in patients who underwent craniotomy coded as diagnosis-related group (DRG) 1 (17 years of age with nontraumatic disease without complication) and who met their hospital's craniotomy pathway criteria and had a hospital length of stay 4 days or less during a 20-month period.

Methods
Data in all patients meeting these criteria (76 cases) were collected and collated from various hospital databases. Twenty-one cases were profitable and 55 were not. Variables traditionally influencing cost of care, such as surgeon, procedure, length of operation, and pharmacy use had no significant effect on whether a patient was profitable. The most important influence on profitability was the individual payor. Cases in which care was reimbursed under the prospective payment system based on DRGs were nearly always profitable whereas those covered by per diem plans were nearly always nonprofitable.

Conclusions
1) Hospital information systems should be customized to deliver consolidated data for timely analysis of cost of care for individual patients. This information may be useful in negotiating profitable contracts. 2) A clinical pathway was successful in reducing the difference in cost of care between profitable and nonprofitable postcra-niotomy cases. 3) In today's health care environment both cost containment and revenue assume importance in determining profitability.
Spinal neurocysticercosis
Authors: Alsina George A. , Johnson J. Patrick , McBride Duncan Q. , Rhoten Patrick R. L. , Mehringer C. Mark , Stokes John K. 
Published: January 2008

Worldwide, cysticercosis is the most common parasitic infection of the central nervous system. In endemic regions, the incidence of neurocysticercosis (NCC) approaches 4% of the general population. The disease is predominantly intracranial, the authors of most series generally report the incidence of spinal NCC as only 1.5 to 3% of all cases. Although spinal NCC is relatively rare, it represents a distinct clinical entity that can have devastating consequences for the patient. Because of the limited size of the spinal canal, the mass effect of these lesions is poorly tolerated. Most spinal NCC occurs in the subarachnoid space where mass effect can cause spinal cord compression, although obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid pathways due to scarring of the subarachnoid space can also cause symptoms.
The authors treated six patients with spinal NCC. In five cases the lesions were located in the subarachnoid space, and in one the lesion was intramedullary. All patients with subarachnoid spinal NCC required excision of the symptomatic lesions; in two cases initial medical therapy had failed. The patient with intramedullary spinal NCC experienced mild symptoms and underwent steroid therapy. All patients experienced variably improved outcomes and were eventually ambulatory.
Medical therapy should be carefully considered in selected patients in whom symptoms are stable and nonprogressive. Surgical intervention is required when severe or progressive deficits occur to prevent permanent injury. In some patients recovery may be limited as a result of inflammatory injury to the spinal cord or arachnoidal adhesions.
Outcome analysis of patients after ligament-sparing microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation
Authors: Park Youn-Kwan , Kim Joo-Han , Chung Heung-Seob 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors describe a microsurgical technique for the preservation of the ligamentum flavum and the long-term surgery-related results, including an independent assessment of outcome.

Methods
Three hundred seventy-seven patients underwent ligament-sparing microsurgical discectomy for a previously untreated single-level lumbar disc herniation and were followed for more than 2 years. A successful outcome at 6 months was demonstrated in 93.9% of the patients. At a median follow-up period of 30 months, successful patient-assessed outcome was 84.1%. During the mean follow-up period of 4.2 years (range 2–6.5 years), recurrent disc herniation was detected in 18 patients (4.8%). These patients all underwent repeated surgery. The overall surgery-related rate of complications was 1.3%.

Conclusions
The authors conclude that ligament-sparing microdiscectomy is a safe procedure, with a favorable success rate and minimal morbidity. Reoperation is safer and easier when using this technique compared with traditional ones.
Identifying patients at risk for postprocedural morbidity after treatment of incidental intracranial aneurysms: the role of aneurysm size and location
Authors: Janardhan Vallabh , Friedlander Robert , Riina Howard , Stieg Philip Edwin 
Published: January 2008

Object
A decision to treat incidental intracranial aneurysms (IIAs) relies on understanding the risks of treatment and weighing them against the those of aneurysm rupture. Whereas the natural history of IIAs is currently being studied, the risks associated with treating IIAs and factors associated with poor outcome need to be clearly established.

Methods
In a consecutive series of 125 patients, 160 IIAs were treated either surgically (152 cases) or endovascularly (eight cases). Postprocedural morbidity was defined as a new neurological deficit associated with a score greater than or equal to 3 on the modified Rankin Scale or a score of less than 24 on the Mini-Mental Status Examination. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of postprocedural morbidity from retrospectively collected data on demographic, clinical, and radiographic characteristics.
Treatment of IIAs was not associated with any mortality and was associated with postprocedural morbidity in 17 (13.6%) of 125 patients (early outcome) and eight (6.4%) of patients (late outcome). In the logistic-regression model, treatment of aneurysms (≥13 mm) and posterior circulation aneurysms were independently associated with postprocedural morbidity. In patients in whom postprocedural neurological deficits developed, 12 (70.6%) of 17 and four (23.5%) of 17 patients harbored aneurysms with broad or calcified necks, respectively. Age, comorbidities, multiple aneurysms, specific aneurysm location, and history of subarachnoid hemorrhage related to a different aneurysm were not significantly associated with poor outcome.

Conclusions
The authors found that IIAs can be safely and effectively treated without causing mortality and with a lower morbidity rate than previously reported. A combination of radiographic variables may be helpful in identifying patients at risk for postprocedural morbidity.
Surgical management of unruptured basilar artery bifurcation aneurysms
Authors: Dumont Aaron S. , Oskouian Rod J. , Chow Michael M. , Kassell Neal F. 
Published: January 2008

The basilar artery (BA) bifurcation is the most common site for aneurysms arising from the posterior circulation. Their inhospitable location, nested within the narrow confines of the interpeduncular fossa anterior to the brainstem, coupled with the rich network of adjacent critical thalamoperforating arteries irrigating the midbrain and thalamus, pose difficult anatomical obstacles for the surgeon.
The age old adage that the only cure for intracranial aneurysms remains exclusion from circulation before rupture still holds true. Although management of unruptured aneurysms in general is still controversial, unruptured aneurysms of the BA bifurcation can be treated surgically with acceptable rates of morbidity. The clinician must gather and weigh all clinical, pathological, and radiological data when formulating recommendations for the individual patient.
In the present report the authors describe their current technique for the surgical management of unruptured BA bifurcation aneurysms; this represents the culmination of the senior author's (N.K.) experience in the management of both ruptured and unruptured BA bifurcation aneurysms. A modified, right-sided subtemporal transtentorial approach has been adopted in all cases of isolated unruptured BA bifurcation aneurysms. Technical nuances are described.
Spinal extradural meningeal cyst: correct radiological and histopathological diagnosis
Authors: Sato Kimiaki , Nagata Kensei , Sugita Yasuo 
Published: January 2008

Object
Spinal extradural meningeal cysts are uncommon and rarely cause neural compression. The clinical, radiological, and histopathological characteristics of the lesions are discussed and previous reports reviewed.

Methods
The authors describe five cases of a spinal extradural meningeal cyst (three female and two male patients, with a mean age of 47 years (range 14–75 years). Four of the cysts were located at the thoracolumbar level, the fifth at the sacral level. Radiological and neuroimaging-based diagnosis was made using a combination of magnetic resonance imaging, myelography, and/or computerized tomography (CT) myelography.
A connection between the spinal subarachnoid space and the cyst cavity was demonstrated on myelography and/or CT myelography in all cases, and dural defects were confirmed visually intraoperatively. In all cases histopathological examination confirmed that the cyst wall was formed by nonspecific fibrous connective tissue without a single-cell layer of inner arachnoid lining.

Conclusions
A diagnosis of spinal extradural meningeal cyst is difficult to make based solely on histopathological examination. It is essential that the final characterization and diagnosis be based on intraoperative inspection combined with radiological and histopathological findings.
The role of cell therapy for stroke
Authors: Kondziolka Douglas , Wechsler Lawrence , Tyler-Kabara Elizabeth , Achim Cristian 
Published: January 2008

Cellular therapy has been evaluated in small animals, subhuman primates, and now humans for the potential repair of brain injury due to stroke. Experimental striate stroke models have proven useful for the purpose of evaluating different treatment paradigms. Early clinical trials involving neuronal transplantation in patients suffering motor-related stroke in the basal ganglia region have begun.
This research will be described in this report.
Glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor–supplemented hibernation of fetal ventral mesencephalic neurons for transplantation in Parkinson disease: long-term storage
Authors: Hebb Adam O. , Hebb Kari , Ramachandran Arun C. , Mendez Ivar 
Published: January 2008

Object
Investigation of fetal dopaminergic tissue transplantation is being conducted in animal models and clinical trials as a potential treatment for advanced Parkinson disease (PD). Because the availability of fetal tissue is limited, however, the duration of its storage prior to transplantation is a key practical issue. Longer storage times may enable fetal tissue obtained over several days to be pooled together for transplantation in a recipient. Glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has been shown to improve survival of stored human dopaminergic tissue prior to transplantation. The objective of this study was to evaluate GDNF-supplemented hibernation of fetal dopaminergic tissue for extended periods of 6 to 15 days.

Methods
A total of 27 rat ventral mesencephalons (VMs) were obtained in gestation Day 14 rat fetuses, and three were cultured immediately (fresh-culture control group). The remaining 24 VMs were divided sagittally along the mid-line to form 48 equal pieces of hemimesencephalons. Twenty-four pieces were stored with GDNF-supplemented hibernation medium for 6, 9, 12, or 15 days, and the 24 “partner” hemimesencephalons were stored in control hibernation medium for the same periods of time. Tissue was cultured for 48 hours and processed for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity and cresyl violet. Cell counts for all cultures and percentage of TH-immunoreactive cells were obtained. The percentage of TH-positive cells for the fresh control group was 6.3 ± 0.5%; that measured in cultures derived from tissue hibernated in GDNF-supplemented medium was significantly increased at 6 and 9 days posthiber-nation compared with the fresh-culture control group and the partner groups stored in hibernation medium only. No significant increase in percentage of TH-immunoreactive cells was observed in the 12- and 15-day hibernation groups.

Conclusions
In summary the authors found that fetal dopaminergic tissue can safely be stored up to 9 days in GDNF-supplemented hibernation medium. Furthermore the percentage of TH-immunoreactive cells is significantly increased after 6 and 9 days of storage in this medium, improving the yield of TH-positive cells prior to transplantation. These observations may have important clinical implications for collecting fetal dopaminergic cells and improving their survival after transplantation.
Thoracic pedicle screw fixation for spinal deformity
Authors: Rosner Michael K. , Polly David W. , Kuklo Timothy R. , Ondra Stephen L. 
Published: January 2008

Techniques to improve segmental fixation have advanced the ability to correct complex spinal deformity. The purpose of instrumentation is to correct spinal deformity or to stabilize the spine to enhance the long-term biological fusion. The ultimate goal of spinal deformity surgery is the creation of a stable, balanced, pain-free spine centered over the pelvis in the coronal and sagittal planes. The minimum number of segments should be fused. These concepts remain challenging in the setting of deformity and instability. Successful results can be obtained if the surgeon understands the technology available, its capabilities, biological limitations, and the desired solution.
The authors prefer to use thoracic pedicle screws when treating patients with spinal deformity because they provide greater corrective forces for realignment. This allows shorter-segment constructs and the possibility of true derotation in correction. In this article the authors focus on the use of thoracic transpedicular screw fixation in the management of complex spinal disorders and deformity.