The aim of this study was to evaluate the anatomical variations and injuries in patients with unstable Hangman fractures that affected the posterior pedicle screw placement of C2 to C3 and retrospectively review our experience with management of these fractures. Clinical data were reviewed in 72 patients with unstable Hangman fractures, especially using 3-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT)...

OBJECTIVE To determine the entry for the dorsal pedicular screw in relation to the notch present at the junction of base of the lateral margin of superior articular process with superior border of transverse process in dorsal spine. The advantage of this technique is a constant and easily identifiable entry point which does not involve partial resection of the inferior facet, thus maintaining s...

Study Design Mechanical study. Purpose To compare the pullout strength of different screw designs and augmentation techniques in an osteoporotic bone model. Overview of Literature Adequate bone screw pullout strength is a common problem among osteoporotic patients. Various screw designs and augmentation techniques have been developed to improve the biomechanical characteristics of the bone-...

Problems that screw cannot be inserted may occur in screw-rod fixation techniques such as Harms technique. We compared the biomechanical stability imparted to the C-2 vertebrae by four designed posterior screw and rod fixation techniques for the management of odontoid fractures. A three-dimensional finite element model of the odontoid fracture was established by subtracting several unit structu...

STUDY DESIGN Literature review. OBJECTIVE Several studies have shown that the accuracy of pedicle screw placement significantly improves with use of computed tomography (CT)-based navigation systems. Yet, there has been no systematic review directly comparing accuracy of pedicle screw placement between different CT-based navigation systems. The objective of this study is to review the results...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective clinical study. OBJECTIVE To assess the accuracy of multilevel registration for skip pedicle screw placement during image-guided, computer-assisted spine surgery, in the setting of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Computerized frameless stereotactic image-guidance has been used recently to improve pedicle screw placement accurately...

OBJECTIVE Our study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes of cortical screws in regards to postoperative pain. BACKGROUND Pedicle screw fixation is the current mainstay technique for posterior spinal fusion. Over the past decade, a new technique called cortical screw fixation has been developed, which allows for medialized screw placement through stronger cortical bone. There have been sever...

STUDY DESIGN Biomechanical and histologic analysis. OBJECTIVE To compare the strength of the bone-screw interface of standard uncoated pedicle screws with screws treated with hydroxyapatite (HA), titanium plasma spray (TPS), and a composite HA-TPS coating. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Transpedicular screw fixation has become the gold standard in the treatment of various thoracolumbar spinal c...

STUDY DESIGN The loosening rates of two monocortical pedicle screw designs (hollow and solid) were compared in a cadaveric sacrum model subjected to cyclic loading. OBJECTIVE To determine if a hollow screw would be more resistant to loosening than a solid pedicle screw when placed into the pedicles of S1 and tested under stair-cased cyclic loading. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Screw loosening...

This review focused on an examination of the literature on the surgical treatment of low-back pain in patients with DDD or low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis treated with PLF, with or without the use of pedicle screw fixation. All Class I and the majority of Class II and Class III medical evidence on this topic indicates that the addition of pedicle screw fixation to PLF increases fusion ...