Can autologous bone culture predict spinal fusion capacity?
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The capacity of the individual patient to initiate osteoblast proliferation as a predictor for successful lumbar spinal fusion has not yet been reported. The objectives of this study were, first, to analyze the relationship between in vitro osteoblast proliferation and clinical bony fusion in the individual patient in order to predict the fusion outcome and, second, to measure the effect of preoperative tobacco smoking on osteoblast proliferation. Sixty-one patients (mean age 46 years) underwent posterolateral lumbar fusion in the period 1994-1995. Thirty-eight patients received CD pedicle screw implants and 23 received posterolateral fusions alone. During surgery, autogenous iliac bone was harvested and 1 g of trabecular bone without blood or bone marrow was then isolated for cell culturing. The cultures were classified as excellent (confluence within 4 weeks), good (confluence between 4 and 6 weeks) and poor (no or poor growth). Spine fusion was evaluated by two independent observers from plain anterior-posterior, lateral, and flexion/extension radiographs taken 1 year postoperatively, and the functional outcome was measured by the Dallas Pain Questionnaire (DPQ). Twenty-three patients had excellent, 19 good, and 19 poor in vitro osteoblast proliferation. Bony fusion was obtained in 77% of patients: 83% in the CD instrumentation group and 70% in the non-instrumentation group (NS). There was no significant correlation between osteoblast proliferation and spinal fusion or functional outcomes when analyzing the CD instrumentation and non-instrumentation groups together or separately. Elderly patients had a significantly poorer osteoblast proliferation than younger patients (P < 0.008). Preoperative tobacco consumption had no discernible effect on osteoblast proliferation, and no correlation between smoking and fusion was found. Further refinement of autologous osteoblast culturing may provide a biological tool for selection of patients who require biological enhancement of their bone fusion capacity. The poorer osteoblast proliferation related to advanced age supports the important negative biological influence of age on bony fusion. However, with more sensitive testing and better discrimination, other results are possible - or can in any event not be excluded. (+info)
Massive pelvic and femoral pseudotumoral osteolysis secondary to an uncemented total hip arthroplasty.
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A 51 year-old man developed an extensive osteolytic response to wear debris in an uncemented porous-coated total hip arthroplasty, with metal/polyethylene interface, which had been implanted eighteen years previously. This reaction, which involved the upper femur and the ilium, produced a mass which compressed the pelvic viscera. (+info)
The iliopubic tract: an important anatomical landmark in surgery.
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A band of fascial thickening, termed the iliopubic tract, lies on the posterior aspect of the inguinal region and has been described in the surgical literature as playing an important role during herniorraphy. This study was undertaken to examine the gross and microscopic anatomy of the iliopubic tract in 12 cadavers. The results confirmed that the iliopubic tract can be readily identified as a thickening of the transversalis fascia running deep and parallel to the inguinal ligament. It attaches to the superomedial part of the pubic bone medially, but laterally its fibres fan out within the fascia transversalis and fascia iliaca without bony attachment to the iliac spines. In contrast to the inguinal ligament, the histological analysis of the iliopubic tract shows a high elastin to collagen ratio. The functional significance of this structure merits further study, but there is no doubt that it is important in many approaches to inguinal herniorraphy. For this reason it is considered that the iliopubic tract deserves greater emphasis in the anatomy teaching of the inguinal region. (+info)
Differential patterns of altered bone formation in different bone compartments in established osteoporosis.
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AIM: To investigate the level of bone formation in the different bone compartments in cases of established osteoporosis, as previous work has concentrated on trabecular bone alone. METHODS: Bone formation rates were measured histomorphometrically, in the periosteal (P), cortical (C), subcortical (SC), and trabecular (T) compartments in iliac crest biopsies from 159 patients with established osteoporosis. The values were standardised using age and sex matched control data and patterns of differential change determined by analysis of parametric status (increased, normal, reduced). RESULTS: Mean bone formation was reduced in all four compartments. This was more marked (4.4/4.1 standard deviations below the mean in C/T, v 2.3/0.9 in P/SC) and more frequent (reduced in 81.5%/78.3% in T/C, v 43.3%/44% in P/SC) in the trabecular and cortical compartments than in the periosteal or subcortical bone. Parametric status was equal in trabecular and cortical bone in 85.4% of cases, and in periosteal and subcortical bone in 65.7%, but in all four compartments in only 35.1%, indicating differential alteration of bone formation in the two sets of compartments (T/C v P/SC). CONCLUSIONS: Altered trabecular bone formation is important in osteoporosis, but there are differential patterns of alteration in the other three compartments, emphasising the presence of different microenvironments in bone; thus the effect on the cortical compartment was similar to that on the trabecular, while the subcortical and periosteal compartments also showed linkage. The linkage between the two pairs was divergent, indicating different control of bone formation, with resultant different patterns of perturbation in osteoporosis. (+info)
Spinal instrumentation for unstable C1-2 injury.
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Seventeen patients with unstable C1-2 injuries were treated between 1990 and 1997. Various methods of instrumentation surgery were performed in 16 patients, excluding a case of atlantoaxial rotatory fixation. Posterior stabilization was carried out in 14 cases using Halifax interlaminar clamp, Sof'wire or Danek cable, or more recently, transarticular screws. Transodontoid anterior screw fixation was performed in four cases of odontoid process fractures, with posterior instrumentation in two cases because of malunion. Rigid internal fixation by instrumentation surgery for the unstable C1-2 injury avoids long-term application of a Halo brace and facilitates early rehabilitation. However, the procedure is technically demanding with the risk of neural and vascular injuries, particularly with posterior screw fixation. Sagittal reconstruction of thin-sliced computed tomography scans at the C1-2 region, neuronavigator, and intraoperative fluoroscopy are essential to allow preoperative surgical planning and intraoperative guidance. (+info)
Bone turnover associated with antler growth in red deer (Cervus elaphus).
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Although it is known that skeletal bone depletion occurs during antler growth in deer, it is not clear whether repletion of the skeleton takes place before or after completion of antler development. This study attempted to correlate repeated scanning electron microscopic measures of ilium and rib bone porosity from six approximately 2-monthly biopsy samples (using back-scattered imaging) and biochemical markers of bone turnover (serum hydroxyproline and osteocalcin concentrations) taken for 11 months with antler growth in six red deer stags. No changes were detected in ilium samples but changes in porosity of rib bones and an elevation of the biochemical markers indicated that skeletal depletion occurred during the antler growth period. However, the decrease in rib bone porosity and decline in markers of bone turnover took place before completion of antler growth, indicating that a considerable amount of skeletal repletion could have occurred whilst antlers were also undergoing bone accretion. This latter finding extends the current view of antler growth being accompanied by a form of reversible osteoporosis in the skeleton by showing that there is a period when the antlers and skeleton are both undergoing net bone formation. (+info)
Femoral head necrosis treated with vascularized iliac crest graft.
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We reviewed 24 hips with avascular necrosis of the femoral head in 24 patients treated with vascularized iliac bone grafts 12 years after operation. In 7 patients the necrosis was classified as Ficat Stage II and in 17 patients as Stage III. Eight patients showed poor results. In 6 hips with fair results, moderate progression of the necrosis was noted at 3 to 8 years postoperatively. In 5 hips showing good results, slow progression with incipient signs of arthrosis were noted 8 years after surgery. In the remaining 5 patients with excellent results, no evidence of progression was noted 9 to 14 years postoperatively. The method described is recommended for treatment in the Ficat Stage II and early Stage III, when necrosis does not yet involve the complete femoral head. (+info)
Antibodies to heat shock protein 90 in osteosarcoma patients correlate with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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Autoantibodies to the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp 90) have been reported as prognostic marker in breast cancer patients. Sera from 20 high-grade osteosarcoma patients were tested at the time of diagnosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Presence of anti-Hsp90 antibodies correlated with a better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P < 0.01), whereas the absence correlated with development of metastases. These data suggest that anti-Hsp90 antibodies might be of predictive value in human osteosarcoma. (+info)