Spinal anesthesia in elective lumbar spinal surgery

Spinal anesthesia (SA) is gaining recognition as a safe and efficacious regional alternative to general anesthesia for elective lumbar surgery. However, unfamiliarity with management issues related to its use has limited the adoption of awake spine surgery, despite its benefits. Few centers in the United States routinely offer SA for elective lumbar surgery, and a comprehensive workflow to standardize SA for lumbar surgery is lacking. In this article, we examine recent literature on the use of SA in lumbar surgery, review the experience of our institution with SA in lumbar surgery, and provide a cohesive outline to streamline the implementation of SA from the perspective of the anesthesiologist. We review the critical features of SA in contemporary lumbar surgery, including selection of patients, methods of SA, intraoperative sedation, and management of several important technical considerations. We aimed to flatten the learning curve to improve the availability and accessibility of the technique for eligible patients

Rapid resolution of an acute subdural hematoma by increasing the shunt valve pressure in a 63-year-old man with normal-pressure hydrocephalus with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt: a case report and literature review

Abstract Introduction Symptomatic subdural hematoma development is a constant concern for patients who have undergone cerebrospinal fluid shunting procedures to relieve symptoms related to normal-pressure hydrocephalus. Acute subdural hematomas are of particular concern in these patients as even minor head trauma may result in subdural hematoma formation. The presence of a ventricular shunt facilitates further expansion of the subdural hematoma and often necessitates surgical treatment, including subdural hematoma evacuation and shunt ligation. Case presentation We present the case of a 63-year-old North American Caucasian man with normal-pressure hydrocephalus with an adjustable valve ventriculoperitoneal shunt who developed an acute subdural hematoma after sustaining head trauma. Conservative treatment was favored over operative evacuation because our patient was neurologically intact, but simple observation was considered to be too high risk in the setting of a low-pressure ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Thus, the valve setting on the ventriculoperitoneal shunt was increased to its maximum pressure setting in order to reduce flow through the shunt and to mildly increase intracranial pressure in an attempt to tamponade any active bleeding and limit hematoma expansion. A repeat computed tomography scan of the head six days after the valve adjustment revealed complete resolution of the acute subdural hematoma. At this time, the valve pressure was reduced to its original setting to treat symptoms of normal-pressure hydrocephalus. Conclusions Programmable shunt valves afford the option for non-operative management of acute subdural hematoma in patients with ventricular shunts for normal-pressure hydrocephalus. As illustrated in this case report, increasing the shunt valve pressure may result in rapid resolution of the acute subdural hematoma in some patients.</p

Fibrous non-union of odontoid fracture: Is it safe to accept non-operative management? A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: Non-operative management of odontoid fractures can result in solid fusion, unstable non-union and fibrous non-union. Those with fibrous non-union do not demonstrate dynamic instability on imaging but the safety of accepting this as an outcome is debatable. The authors provide the first systematic review of the existing literature, exploring the safety of accepting fibrous non-union as an outcome of odontoid fracture. METHODS: The Pubmed and Embase databases were searched in January 2022. Outcomes were extracted and categorized according to mortality, neurologic sequelae, pain, neck disability index and satisfaction. RESULTS: Of a total 700 abstracts screened, 79 full texts were assessed of which 13 studies were included. A total 141 patients had a fibrous non-union, all described in observational studies. Follow-up ranged between studies ranged from 0.6 to 5.8 years. None of the 141 patients had a neurologic event. One patient had a trauma-related mortality, however causality was not exposed. The majority of studies reported good to excellent pain scores. The majority of neck disabilities reported were in the range of mild to moderate apart from one study with five patients reporting severe disability. All patients reported good or excellent satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence supports it is safe to forgo surgery in carefully selected patients with non-united odontoid fractures when there is near-anatomic alignment, lack of dynamic instability on imaging, normal neurologic exam and low risk for neck injury. Further study is needed to define the full natural history of fibrous non-union of odontoid fracture

Case Report Early Identification of Traumatic Durotomy Associated with Atlantooccipital Dislocation May Prevent Retropharyngeal Pseudomeningocele Development

Atlantooccipital dislocation can be complicated by a traumatic durotomy that may lead to the rare development of a retropharyngeal pseudomeningocele. To our knowledge this has been reported only five times previously. We present the case of a 60-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident who suffered an atlantooccipital dislocation and C5-C6 three-column injury. A unique MRI image of a defect in the ventral dura posterior to C2 was appreciated. He underwent occiput to T2 internal fixation and arthrodesis. During surgery, CSF egress was seen caudal to the right C2 nerve root. A DuraMatrix onlay patch reinforced with DuraSeal was placed to stop the CSF leak. A lumbar subarachnoid drain was also placed. The patient made a satisfactory recovery with residual mild weakness of his right upper extremity. In this report, we demonstrate that careful MRI review can reveal a ventral durotomy in a traumatic atlantooccipital dislocation and, if discovered, effective treatment including a lumbar subarachnoid drain for CSF diversion may prevent progression to a retropharyngeal pseudomeningocele. The literature on this rare presentation and associated durotomy is provided

Early Identification of Traumatic Durotomy Associated with Atlantooccipital Dislocation May Prevent Retropharyngeal Pseudomeningocele Development

Atlantooccipital dislocation can be complicated by a traumatic durotomy that may lead to the rare development of a retropharyngeal pseudomeningocele. To our knowledge this has been reported only five times previously. We present the case of a 60-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident who suffered an atlantooccipital dislocation and C5-C6 three-column injury. A unique MRI image of a defect in the ventral dura posterior to C2 was appreciated. He underwent occiput to T2 internal fixation and arthrodesis. During surgery, CSF egress was seen caudal to the right C2 nerve root. A DuraMatrix onlay patch reinforced with DuraSeal was placed to stop the CSF leak. A lumbar subarachnoid drain was also placed. The patient made a satisfactory recovery with residual mild weakness of his right upper extremity. In this report, we demonstrate that careful MRI review can reveal a ventral durotomy in a traumatic atlantooccipital dislocation and, if discovered, effective treatment including a lumbar subarachnoid drain for CSF diversion may prevent progression to a retropharyngeal pseudomeningocele. The literature on this rare presentation and associated durotomy is provided

Machine Learning Quantification of Amyloid Deposits in Histological Images of Ligamentum Flavum

Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt) is an underdiagnosed and potentially fatal disease. Interestingly, ATTRwt deposits have been found to deposit in the ligamentum flavum (LF) of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis before the development of systemic and cardiac amyloidosis. In order to study this phenomenon and its possible relationship with LF thickening and systemic amyloidosis, a precise method of quantifying amyloid deposits in histological slides of LF is critical. However, such a method is currently unavailable. Here, we present a machine learning quantification method with Trainable Weka Segmentation (TWS) to assess amyloid deposition in histological slides of LF. Images of ligamentum flavum specimens stained with Congo red are obtained from spinal stenosis patients undergoing laminectomies and confirmed to be positive for ATTRwt. Amyloid deposits in these specimens are classified and quantified by TWS through training the algorithm via user-directed annotations on images of LF. TWS can also be automated through exposure to a set of training images with user-directed annotations, and then applied] to a set of new images without additional annotations. Additional methods of color thresholding and manual segmentation are also used on these images for comparison to TWS. We develop the use of TWS in images of LF and demonstrate its potential for automated quantification. TWS is strongly correlated with manual segmentation in the training set of images with user-directed annotations (R = 0.98; p = 0.0033) as well as in the application set of images where TWS was automated (R = 0.94; p = 0.016). Color thresholding was weakly correlated with manual segmentation in the training set of images (R = 0.78; p = 0.12) and in the application set of images (R = 0.65; p = 0.23). TWS machine learning closely correlates with the gold-standard comparator of manual segmentation and outperforms the color thresholding method. This novel machine learning method to quantify amyloid deposition in histological slides of ligamentum flavum is a precise, objective, accessible, high throughput, and powerful tool that will hopefully pave the way towards future research and clinical applications

The relationship between surgical site drains and reoperation for wound-related complications following posterior cervical spine surgery: a multicenter retrospective study.

OBJECTIVEUse of surgical site drains following posterior cervical spine surgery is variable, and its impact on outcomes remains controversial. Studies of drain use in the lumbar spine have suggested that drains are not associated with reduction of reoperations for wound infection or hematoma. There is a paucity of studies examining this relationship in the cervical spine, where hematomas and infections can have severe consequences. This study aims to examine the relationship between surgical site drains and reoperation for wound-related complications following posterior cervical spine surgery.METHODSThis study is a multicenter retrospective review of 1799 consecutive patients who underwent posterior cervical decompression with instrumentation at 4 tertiary care centers between 2004 and 2016. Demographic and perioperative data were analyzed for associations with drain placement and return to the operating room.RESULTSOf 1799 patients, 1180 (65.6%) had a drain placed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified history of diabetes (OR 1.37, p = 0.03) and total number of levels operated (OR 1.32, p \u3c 0.001) as independent predictors of drain placement. Rates of reoperation for any surgical site complication were not different between the drain and no-drain groups (4.07% vs 3.88%, p = 0.85). Similarly, rates of reoperation for surgical site infection (1.61% vs 2.58%, p = 0.16) and hematoma (0.68% vs 0.48%, p = 0.62) were not different between the drain and no-drain groups. However, after adjusting for history of diabetes and the number of operative levels, patients with drains had significantly lower odds of returning to the operating room for surgical site infection (OR 0.48, p = 0.04) but not for hematoma (OR 1.22, p = 0.77).CONCLUSIONSThis large study characterizes current practice patterns in the utilization of surgical site drains during posterior cervical decompression and instrumentation. Patients with drains placed did not have lower odds of returning to the operating room for postoperative hematoma. However, the authors\u27 data suggest that patients with drains may be less likely to return to the operating room for surgical site infection, although the absolute number of infections in the entire population was small, limiting the analysis