Percutaneous and open pedicle screw placements have been widely used in lumbar fusion surgery. However, there are conflicting reports of cranial facet joint violation rate for the 2 techniques. To better determine the rate of cranial facet joint violation, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed in the present study. We searched the established electronic literature databases includ...

Although C1-C2 pedicle screw fixation provides an excellent fusion rate and rigid fixation, this technique has a potential risk. It is essential to develop an accurate screwing method to avoid this neurovascular injury. To develop and validate the accuracy of a novel navigational template for C1-C2 pedicle screw placement in cadaveric specimens, computed tomography scans with 1-mm-wide cuts wer...

Pedicle screw instrumentation of the upper cervical spine is rarely performed in trauma surgery because of the risk of damaging neurovascular structures. We report successful treatment of an unstable hangman's fracture with posterior pedicle screw fixation using Iso-C3D fluoroscopy-based computer navigation guidance. Postoperative computed tomographic images confirmed accurate placement of the ...

Pedicle screws are widely used for instrumentation of the thoracolumbar spine. The anatomic studies performed in the last two decades, detailing the complex morphometry and three-dimensional anatomy of the thoracolumbar pedicles, have enabled the emergence of the so-called "free-hand" technique of pedicle screw placement based exclusively on anatomical parameters. However, in the thoracic spine...

OBJECTIVE To investigate how the anatomy of variant atlas vertebra impacts on the strategy used to place pedicle screws used to treat atlantoaxial instability. METHODS The study enrolled patients with cervical instability who had a posterior arch pedicle height <3.5 mm at the anchor point, a vertebral artery groove height <3.5 mm, or both. Pedicle screws were fitted according to the anatomy o...

STUDY DESIGN Pedicle screw strength or load to failure was biomechanically evaluated, and the geometric characteristics of pedicle screw instrumentation systems were compared. OBJECTIVES To compare the features of pedicle screw systems, and to demonstrate the failure point of the polyaxial pedicle screw head. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Many pedicle screw instrumentation systems are currentl...

Pedicle screw fixation in the thoracic spine presents certain challenges due to the critical regional neurovascular anatomy as well as the narrow pedicular corridor that typically exists. With increased awareness of the dangers of intraoperative radiation, the ability to place pedicle screws with anatomic landmarks alone is paramount. In this study, we reviewed the literature from 1990 to 2015 ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the change of fixation strength after adjusting the height of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-augmented pedicle screws.Cement-augmented cannulated pedicle screws with or without PMMA augmentation with a radial hole in the distal third of the screw thread were inserted into synthetic bone blocks used to model osteoporosis. Screws were left unchanged (in s...

Park P, Foley KT, Cowan JA, Marca FL. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Surg Neurol Int. 2010 Aug Background: Pedicle screw misplacement is relatively common, with reported rates ranging up to 42%. Although computer-assisted image guidance (CaIG) has been shown to improve accuracy in open spinal surgery, its use in minimally invasive procedures...