INTRODUCTION Plantar hyperhidrosis is present in 50% of patients with hyperhidrosis. Thoracic sympathectomy is an important tool for the treatment of this condition, which is successful in about 60% of patients. For the remaining patients, lumbar sympathectomy is the procedure of choice. As new minimally invasive techniques have been developed, a significant demand for this type of access has l...

BACKGROUND Postoperative spinal wound infections are relatively common and are often associated with increased morbidity and poor long-term patient outcomes. The purposes of this study were to identify the common bacterial flora on the skin overlying the lumbar spine and evaluate the efficacy of readily available skin-preparation solutions in the elimination of bacterial pathogens from the surg...

OBJECTIVE Failed back surgery syndrome is characterized by the presence of intractable pain and varying degrees of functional incapacity after lumbar spine surgery. Because the mechanisms that cause pain are variable, treatment of this syndrome is quite difficult, and one of the most common methods that is used for treatment nowadays is epidural injection. This research evaluates the analgesic ...

BACKGROUND We report experience with patients presenting with a specific combination of symptoms: unilateral sciatica, unilateral sensibility loss in the dermatomes S1 to S5 (hemi-saddle) and subjective micturation problems secondary to ruptured lumbar disc. Because of its similarities with a cauda equina syndrome, this combination of symptoms was thought to be a unilateral cauda equina syndrom...

2 Background: Epidural fibrosis (EF) is a common complication after laminectomy. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is a major bioactive component of a traditional Chinese medical agent, Salvia miltiorrhiza, which has shown anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and anti-proliferative properties. Objection: The object of this study was to investigate the effect of Sal B on the prevention of epidural fibrosis...

Up to 30% of patients who undergo surgery for lumbar disc disease experience recurrent symptoms postoperatively.1 2 This so-called 'failed back syndrome' is a complex phenomenon influenced by organic, psychological, economic and social factors.3,4 Radiological examination is frequently requested in order to exclude-an anatomical basis for the patient's complaints3 (Table 1). Re -exploration in ...

Synovial cysts of diarthrodial joints have long been recognized [1]. Clinically, they have most often been found in association with one of the arthritides [2,3]. Though synovial cysts can involve the facet joints of the spine, this fact was little appreciated until very recently [4, 5]. Radiographically, these lesions were extremely difficult to diagnose and were rarely recognized preoperative...

Neuropathic pain is a complex syndrome resulting from damage to the peripheral nervous system. Central neuroimmune activation contributes to the generation and maintenance of chronic pain after nerve injury. The current study determined the effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on behavioral hyperalgesia and neuroimmune activation in a rat model of neuropathic pain induced by L5 s...