Compression fractures of thoracolumbar vertebra are the most common vertebral fracture. 1 Associated with osteoporosis, the compression can progress until reach vertebra plana and cause a kyphosis. 2 The reduction of the fresh fracture and restoration of the height are the purposes of the kyphoplasty. 3 We present a modified technique adapted for the treatment of vertebral plana using a mechanical flexible lamellar vertebral body reduction device (Tektona, Spinart). 4 We present the case of a 77-year-old woman with back pain after a fall. The radiological investigations show a compressive fracture type AO A1 of T7. After an initial conservative management, the patient presented persistence of the pain with a visual analog scale of 9/10 and progression of the fracture at the 2-week follow-up. On the x-ray, focal kyphosis with vertebra plana was observed. A kyphoplasty for pain management and kyphosis correction was performed. The patient consented to the procedure. A bipedicular approach to the vertebra was performed. The correction of the height was done using 2 mechanical devices. The lamellar device allowed a progressive height restoration of the fracture. On one side, the cannula was used as a support to maintain the correction during the contralateral cementing. The postoperative imaging confirmed a maintained vertebral restoration with kyphosis correction. At 1 year, the patient reported a pain at 1 of 10 on the visual analog scale. In our opinion, this technique is adapted for fresh osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Surgical experience in osteoporotic fracture treatment and kyphoplasty is recommended before the management of vertebra plana.

Selecting patients with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (LDS) for surgery is difficult. Appropriate use criteria (AUC) have been developed to clarify the indications for LDS surgery but have not been evaluated in controlled studies. This prospective, controlled, multicentre study involved 908 patients (561 surgical and 347 non-surgical controls; 69.5 ± 9.7y; 69

Background: A pure intramuscular paraspinal schwannoma is extremely rare, with only few case reports in the literature.Due to low frequency, lack of specific clinical signs and symptoms and difficult radiological assessment, the pre-surgical workup leads to a broad differential diagnosis.The aim of the work carried out was therefore to search for evidence of common clinical and radiological signs of the intramuscular paraspinal schwannoma, useful in the diagnostic work-up, and to highlight possible standards of treatment.Methods: Starting from the analysis of our case, we have extended a search to similar cases on the databases PubMed and Google Scholar.The outcome of the analysis gathered, up to August 2021, six relevant papers.Result: We treated a 69-year-old female with a thoracic intramuscular paraspinal mass.The pre-operative MRI had identified two typical signs of schwannoma ("split-fat" sign and the "entry-exit" sign).Intraoperative nerve isolation was performed and complete surgical excision was achieved.At the pathological analysis, we could confirm a rare OMS grade I "ancient schwannoma".The analysis of the literature data showed a homogeneous picture of radiological presentation of the pathology.Moreover, surgical treatment was always the treatment of choice.Conclusions: The proposed assessment and treatment were consistent with the standard collected in the literature.Typical radiological signs were also found in the other cases collected.Radical surgery is the preferred treatment.

Le registre international du rachis «Spine Tango» a ete lance en 2002 afin de pouvoir comparer les efforts therapeutiques au niveau national et international et de tendre vers une harmonisation et une standardisation des traitements.

Das internationale «Spine Tango»-Wirbelsäulenregister wurde 2002 gegründet, um das therapeutische Bemühen auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene vergleichen und sich in Richtung Harmonisierung und Standardisierung der Therapien bewegen zu können.

In this report, we describe an uncommon presentation of a Pott's puffy tumor, which is defined as a subperiosteal abscess related to a chronic frontal sinusitis. This condition has become rare in our part of the world because of the widespread use of antibiotics. Clinical history, investigations, and management are presented.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE:Cavernous angiomas or cavernomas are vascular malformations usually located in the brain parenchyma. However, they rarely present as extra-axial lesions, attached to the dura, and may mimic meningiomas. Most reported cases concern the cavernous sinus region and other locations are very uncommon.CLINICAL PRESENTATION:A 61-yr-old female known for long-standing mental illness presented with progressive gait instability. Imaging studies revealed an extra-axial lesion in relation to the anterior part of the falx cerebri. An interhemispheric approach was used to remove the lesion. Pathological analysis revealed features compatible with an extra-axial cavernoma: structureless vascular channels lacking smooth muscle and elastic lamellae, without intervening brain parenchyma.CONCLUSION:Cavernous angiomas or cavernomas can present as extra-axial lesions. Although progressive growth can be observed, they should not be considered as tumoral lesions, because there is no cellular duplication. Unlike other locations, resection of anterior cranial fossa extra-axial cavernomas seems to be facilitated by minimal bleeding.

The three aims of this Spine Tango registry study of patients undergoing decompression for spinal stenosis were to: report the rate of dural tear (DT) stratified by treatment centre; find factors associated with an increased likelihood of incurring a DT; and compare treatment outcomes in relation to DT (none vs. repaired vs. unrepaired DT).

The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health demanded a nationwide HTA registry for lumbar total disc arthroplasty (TDA), to decide about its reimbursement. The goal of the SWISS spine registry is to generate evidence about the safety and efficiency of lumbar TDA.

Introduction Sagittal balance is an independent predictor of outcomes in spinal care and several authors focused their attention on the lumbar lordosis restoration as the key point to prevent secondary sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD) after fusion. On the other hand, lumbar disc arthroplasty allows preservation of motion avoiding increased stress on the spinopelvic junction and preventing iatrogenic sagittal imbalance. Methods We analyze the incidence of a secondary SIJD and the spinopelvic alignment on a series of 31 consecutive lumbar disc prosthesis with a 10-year follow-up. Results Sagittal balance assessment showed no significant variation of preoperative spinopelvic parameters. Four patients (12%) presented a symptomatic SIJD. Only two of them required a percutaneous SIJ fixation. Both of them presented a fused L5–S1 prosthesis. Conclusions Very few studies are focused on the topic of SIJ deterioration after lumbar arthroplasty and, at the best of our knowledge, the present article is the first with such a long follow-up. After 10 years of the surgery 12% of our patients presented a symptomatic SIJ dysfunction, less than the percentage reported in the literature after lumbosacral fusion. The low rate of SIJD 10 years after lumbar arthroplasty might be explained by the preservation of the spinopelvic balance.

Primary cranial vault lymphomas (PCVL) are extremely rare tumours. An extensive review of the literature shows that only 26 previous PCVL were reported while only four presented with cortex infiltration. We present a singular case of a 74-year-old woman with a voluminous painful mass lesion of the right temporal scalp. Preoperative neuroradiological assessment showed a lesion involving the scalp, the cranial vault and the subdural space; underneath, a cerebral oedema suggested brain infiltration. The absence of any neurological signs despite brain infiltration makes this case exceptional. The preoperative diagnostic hypothesis was infiltrating meningioma, and a surgical excision was scheduled. A radical removal of the lesion was obtained, but the histopathological result was unexpectedly large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Further investigations failed to identify pathology elsewhere confirming the diagnosis of PCVL. Postoperative radio and chemotherapy were administered. The patient is free from signs of disease recurrence at a 2-year follow-up. Radiological features are debated with the aim to stress the possible differential diagnosis, and prognostic factors are discussed. Even if an accepted therapeutic algorithm is far from being defined for these extremely rare tumours, we suggest that radical surgical removal associated with radio and chemotherapy could be the best choice in these particular cases.

Purpose of the study To compare safety and efficacy of cervical disc replacement (CRD) in single and multilevel DDD. Patients were followed up at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Methods 249 patients were enrolled. 171 patients were treated at 1-level, 41 treated at 2 levels and 2 patients were treated at 3 levels. Implant was also used adjacent to a fusion with a cage in 35 patients. The diagnosis was cervical degenerative disc disease between C3 and C7 with symptomatic DH. Population was 106 male 143 female, average age 46 (25-71). Clinical assessment included VAS scores for arm and neck pain and Neck Disability Index (NDI). Range of motion (ROM) from flexion/extension lateral view were measured. Results Of all NDI scores recorded, 86,50 % demonstrated at least 15 points improvement at two years follow up from pre-op scores. 85,1% of VAS arm Pain scores demonstrated an improvement by = 2 points from pre-op scores and 50,8% for VAS neck Pain scores. The breakdown by levels and adjacent to an interbody cage shown that 80% of reported NDI scores demonstrated at least a 15 point improvement post operatively for two level disc replacement. 82,4% demonstrated a greater than 2 points improvement in VAS arm pain and 53,3% for VAS neck pain. For patients that received both implant and an interbody cage, 72,7% demonstrated a greater than 2 point improvement in VAS arm pain and 41,7% for VAS neck pain. Three (1,8%) cases of subsidence and 4 cases of implant loosening/displacement due to inappropriate sizing were reported. Available radiographic findings show on average a ROM of 8,2 ° at 2 years and an overall change in cervical lordosis of 5° from pre-op. Conclusion Clinical outcomes demonstrated a significant improvement for both the total population (n=249) and for the single level total disc replacement population (n=171). Given these outstanding results single and multilevel TDR with this implant can be considered to be safe. No significant difference was observed between single and multilevel TDR groups regarding clinical, functional and radiological results. Follow up for this series need however to be extended for up to 5 years at least. The role of this implant in multilevel cases as well as in cases to a fused level still need further evaluation although these preliminary results are encouraging.

Dynamic stabilization of the spine was developed as an alternative to rigid fusion in chronic back pain to reduce the risk of adjacent segment degeneration. Dynamic neutralization system (Dynesys, Zimmer CH) is one of the most popular systems available, but some midterm studies show revision rates as high as 30 %. Some late infectious complications in our patients prompted us to review them systematically. Propionibacterium recently has been shown to cause subtle infections of prosthetic material.