STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel landmark for the cervical pedicle screw insertion point. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE To improve the accuracy of pedicle screw placement, several studies have employed the lateral mass, lateral vertical notch, and/or inferior articular process as landmarks; however, we often encounter patients in whom we...

BACKGROUND We evaluated the use of a part-task simulator with 3D and haptic feedback as a training tool for a common neurosurgical procedure--placement of thoracic pedicle screws. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the learning retention of thoracic pedicle screw placement on a high-performance augmented reality and haptic technology workstation. METHODS Fifty-one fellows and residents performed thoraci...

Background: The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the accuracy of pedicular screw insertion withoutthe use of fluoroscopy.Methods: This study was conducted on patients with spinal diseases in need of pedicular screw fixation and fusion.The included patients suffered from such conditions as vertebral fracture, spinal stenosis, kyphosis, tumor, and pelvicf...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Cortical bone trajectory (CBT) technique for pedicle screw placement in the lumbar spine has become more popular since its introduction in 2009. The distinct advantages of using the CBT technique involve increased screw purchase within the cortical bone and reduced surgical dissection. However, contrary to several favorable biomechanical results, there were anecdotal reports ...

Computer-assisted frameless stereotactic image guidance allows precise preoperative planning and intraoperative localisation of the image. It has been developed and tested in the laboratory. We evaluated the efficacy, clinical results and complications of placement of a pedicle screw in the lumbar spine using this technique. A total of 62 patients (28 men, 34 women) had lumbar decompression and...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case series. OBJECTIVE To describe a modified technique for mini-open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) that improves visualization for decompression, fusion, and freehand pedicle screw insertion. Accuracy of freehand pedicle screw placement with this technique was assessed. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Mini-open TLIF is a minimally invasive technique th...