Fumihiro Arizumi

Ossified Posterior Longitudinal Ligament With Massive Ossification of the Anterior Longitudinal Ligament Causing Dysphagia in a Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis Patient.

AbstractDescriptive case report.To report a case of a diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) patient with both massive ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament (OALL) leading to severe dysphagia as well as ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) causing mild cervical myelopathy, warranting not only an anterior approach but also a posterior one.Although DISH can cause massive OALL in the cervical spine, severe dysphagia resulting from DISH is a rare occurrence. OALLs are frequently associated with OPLL. Treatment for a DISH patient with OPLL in setting of OALL-caused dysphagia is largely unknown.A 70-year-old man presented with severe dysphagia with mild cervical myelopathy. Neurological examination showed mild spastic paralysis and hyper reflex in his lower extremities. Plane radiographs and computed tomography of the cervical spine revealed a discontinuous massive OALL at C4-5 and continuous type OPLL at C2-6. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed pronounced spinal cord compression due to OPLL at C4-5. Esophagram demonstrated extrinsic compression secondary to OALL at C4-5.We performed posterior decompressive laminectomy with posterior lateral mass screw fixation, as well as both resection of OALL and interbody fusion at C4-5 by the anterior approach. We performed posterior decompressive laminectomy with posterior lateral mass screw fixation, as well as both resection of OALL and interbody fusion at C4-5 by the anterior approach. Severe dysphagia markedly improved without any complications.We considered that this patient not only required osteophytectomy and fusion by the anterior approach but also required decompression and spinal fusion by the posterior approach to prevent both deterioration of cervical myelopathy and recurrence of OALL after surgery.

Changing the design of hydroxyapatite spacers to improve their postoperative displacement following double-door laminoplasty

• The incidence of displacement of arched HA spacers as compared to straight HA spacers following double-door laminoplasty.

Pharmacological Interventions for Neuropathic Pain Associated withCompressive Myelopathy

Neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common problem in patients with SCI, which influences the quality of life of such patients. However, in our experiments of treatments for patients with compressive myelopathy, neuropathic pain was identified in patients with not only SCI, but also those with compressive myelopathy. The objective of this study was the evaluation of pharmacological interventions for neuropathic pain associated with compressive myelopathy (NePCM). Forty-five consecutive patients with NePCM who underwent pharmacological interventions from 2005 to 2016 were included in the study. Patient records were analyzed retrospectively. Evaluated factors were visual analog scale (VAS) and grid score (GS), which were used for quantification of pain. Effective pharmacological interventions were identified when VAS or GS decreased more than 10 points after treatments. The patients’ diagnoses were as follows: cervical or thoracic ossification of posterior longitude ligaments in 17 patients, cervical spondylotic myelopathy in 12 patients, disc herniation in 3 patients, and other diagnoses in 13 patients. All patients received decompression surgery with or without spinal fusion except 7 patients. Cervical lesions were in 32 patients, thoracic lesions were in 11 patients, and both cervical and thoracic lesions were in 2 patients. Pain distribution was at-level in 10 patients, below-level in 23 patients, and both at-level and below-level in 12 patients. Effective interventions were anticonvulsants for 19 patients, antidepressants for 10 patients, and other interventions for 3 patients. The effective anticonvulsants were pregabalin for 9 patients, gabapentin for 6 patients, and chronazepam for 5 patients. The effective antidepressants were duloxetine for 7 patients. However, 15 patients did not respond to any medications. Anticonvulsants and antidepressants are likely to be effective for NePCM, however, some patients do not respond to these interventions. Therefore, advanced treatments have to be developed for NePCM.

Hemothorax caused by the trocar tip of the rod inserter after minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: case report.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) is widely used for lumbar degenerative diseases. In the paper the authors report a unique case of a hemothorax caused by the trocar tip of the rod inserter after MIS-TLIF. A 61-year-old woman presented with thigh pain and gait disturbance due to weakness in her lower right extremity. She was diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation at L1-2 and the MIS-TLIF procedure was performed. Immediately after surgery, the patients thigh pain resolved and she remained stable with normal vital signs. The next day after surgery, she developed severe anemia and her hemoglobin level decreased to 7.6 g/dl, which required blood transfusions. A chest radiograph revealed a hemothorax. A CT scan confirmed a hematoma of the left paravertebral muscle. A chest tube was placed to treat the hemothorax. After 3 days of drainage, there was no active bleeding. The patient was discharged 14 days after surgery without leg pain or any respiratory problems. This complication may have occurred due to injury of the intercostal artery by the trocar tip of the rod inserter. A hemothorax after spine surgery is a rare complication, especially in the posterior approach. The rod should be caudally inserted in the setting of the thoracolumbar spine.

Post-Traumatic Torticollis Due to Odontoid Fracture in a Patient With Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis: A Case Report.

AbstractDescriptive case report.To report a rare case of post-traumatic torticollis by odontoid fracture in a patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH).Cervical fractures in DISH can result from minor trauma, and a delay in presentation often prevents their timely diagnosis. Cervical fractures in patients with spinal DISH usually occur in extension injuries, and almost always occur in the lower cervical spine. Reports of odontoid fractures with torticollis in patients with spinal DISH are rare.A 73-year-old man with DISH presented with severe neck pain and a cervical deformity presenting as torticollis without neurological deficits. He gave a history of a fall while riding a bicycle at a low speed 3 months ago. X-ray showed torticollis in the right side, and computed tomography (CT) showed a type-II odontoid fracture and subluxation at the C1-2 level.We performed a staged treatment because this patient had severe neck pain associated with a chronic course. Initially, the fracture dislocation was reduced under general anesthesia and was stabilized with a halo vest. We then performed posterior occipitocervical in situ fusion after confirming the correction of the cervical deformity by CT. The patient showed significant amelioration of neck symptoms postoperatively, and bony fusion was achieved 1 year after surgery.For post-traumatic torticollis due to an odontoid fracture, plain CT is useful for diagnosis and posterior occipitocervical in situ fusion following correction and immobilization with a halo vest is a safe and an effective treatment.

Prognostic Factors of Surgical Outcome after Spinous Process-Splitting Laminectomy for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Study Design A retrospective case review. Purpose To assess the clinical and radiographic outcomes and identify the predictive factors associated with poor clinical outcomes after lumbar spinous process-splitting laminectomy (LSPSL) for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Overview of Literature LSPSL is an effective surgical treatment for LSS. Special care should be taken in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS). Methods A consecutive retrospective case review of patients undergoing LSPSL for LSS with a minimum 2-year follow-up was performed. Mild DLS and mild degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) were included in the study. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score and recovery rate were reviewed. Poor clinical outcome was defined as a recovery rate <50% using Hirabayashis method. Results A total of 52 patients (mean age, 72 years) met the inclusion criteria and had a mean follow-up of 2.6 years (range, 2-4.5 years). The preoperative diagnosis was LSS in 19, DS in 19, and DLS in 14 cases. The mean JOA score significantly increased from 14.6 to 23.2 at the final follow-up. The overall mean recovery rate was 60.1%. Thirteen patients (25%) were assigned to the poor outcome group. A higher rate of pre-existing DLS was observed in the poor outcome (poor) group (good, 15%; poor, 62%; p=0.003) than in the good outcome (good) group. None of the patient factors examined were associated with a poor outcome. A progression of slippage ≥5 mm was found in 8 of 24 patients (33%) in the DS group. A progression of curvature ≥5° was found in 5 of 14 patients (36%) in the DLS group. The progression of scoliosis and slippage did not influence the clinical outcome. Conclusions The clinical and radiographic outcomes of LSPSL for LSS were favorable. Pre-existing DLS was significantly associated with poor clinical outcome.

Subarachnoid-subarachnoid bypass for spinal adhesive arachnoiditis

The authors report a case of adhesive arachnoiditis (AA) and arachnoid cyst successfully treated by subarachnoid to subarachnoid bypass (S-S bypass). Arachnoid cysts or syringes sometimes compress the spinal cord and cause compressive myelopathy that requires surgical treatment. However, surgical treatment for AA is challenging. A 57-year-old woman developed leg pain and gait disturbance. A dorsal arachnoid cyst compressed the spinal cord at T7-9, the spinal cord was swollen, and a small syrinx was present at T9-10. An S-S bypass was performed from T6-7 to T11-12. The patients gait disturbance resolved immediately after surgery. Two years later, a small arachnoid cyst developed. However, there was no neurological deterioration. The myelopathy associated with thoracic spinal AA, subarachnoid cyst, and syrinx improved after S-S bypass.

Predictive factors for acute exacerbation of cervical compression myelopathy

2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prognosis and adjacent segment disease after lumbar spinal fusion surgery for destructive spondyloarthropathy in long-term hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND Lumbar destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA) is a serious complication in long-term hemodialysis patients. There have not been many reports regarding the surgical management for lumbar DSA. In addition, the adjacent segment pathology after lumbar fusion surgery for DSA is unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical outcome and occurrence of adjacent segmental disease (ASD) after lumbar instrumented fusion surgery for DSA in long-term hemodialysis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS A consecutive series of 36 long-term hemodialysis patients who underwent lumbar instrumented fusion surgery for DSA were included in this study. The mean age at surgery was 65 years. The mean follow-up period was 4 years. Symptomatic ASD was defined as symptomatic spinal stenosis or back pain with radiographic ASD. The Japanese Orthopedic Association score (JOA score), recovery rate (Hirabayashi method), complications, and reoperation were reviewed. RESULTS The mean JOA score significantly increased from 13.5 before surgery to 21.3 at the final follow-up. The mean recovery rate was 51.4%. Six of the 36 patients died within 1 year after index surgery. One patient died due to perioperative complication. Symptomatic ASD occurred in 43% (13 of 30) of the cases. Of these 13 cases, 5 had adjacent segment disc degeneration and 8 had adjacent segment spinal stenosis. Three cases (10%) required reoperation due to proximal ASD. Multi-level fusion surgery increased the risk of ASD compared with single-level fusion surgery (59% vs. 23%). The recovery rate was significantly lower in the ASD group than the non-ASD group (38% vs. 61%). DISCUSSION This study demonstrated that symptomatic ASD occurred in 43% of patients after surgery for lumbar DSA. A high mortality rate and complication rate were observed in long-term hemodialysis patients. Therefore, care should be taken for preoperative planning for surgical management of DSA.

A cervical myelopathy associated with an anomaly of the axis: Two case reports of invaginated spinous process of the axis with spina bifida into the spinal canal

Anomalies of the upper cervical spine are varied and uncommon [1]. However, only 6 cases of cervical myelopathy caused by invagination of an anomalous lamina of the axis have been reported in references searching on Pubmed [2e7]. We report two rare cases of cervical myelopathy due to the invagination of anomalous spinous processes of the axis with spina bifida into the spinal canal. The patients and/or their families were informed that data from the case would be submitted for publication and gave their consent.