PubMed Publications

• Segmental Lordosis After Open Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion Using Expandable Oblique Versus Static Anterior Banana Cages Abstract: CONCLUSION: Open TLIFs performed in conjunction with a PCO yielded 2.0° greater median ΔSL when using expandable obliquely placed cages compared with using static anteriorly placed banana cages. This represents a 50% increase between static and expandable cages. Cage type did not provide a clear advantage for overall ΔLL.
• Operative vs Nonoperative Treatment for Adult Symptomatic Lumbar Scoliosis at 8-Year Follow-Up: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial Abstract: CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of this nonrandomized clinical trial reveal that, on average, operative treatment for ASLS provided significantly greater clinical improvement than nonoperative treatment at 2-, 5- and 8-year follow-up, with no evidence of deterioration. Operative patients with a treatment-related SAE still maintained greater improvement than nonoperative patients. These findings suggest long-term durability of surgical treatment for ASLS and may prove useful for patient...
• The gap between surgeon goal and achieved sagittal alignment in adult cervical spine deformity surgery Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons failed to achieve their preoperative alignment goals by an average of 17.2 mm for C2-7 SVA, 10.3° for C2-7 sagittal Cobb angle, 15.6° for TS-CL, and 34.2 mm for C7-S1 SVA. The few factors identified that were associated with offset between goal and achieved alignment suggest that achievement of goal alignment was most challenging for more severe deformities. Further advancements are needed to enable more consistent translation of preoperative alignment goals into the...
• Novel method of iliac accessory rods for rod fracture prevention in adult deformity surgery: a case series of 82 patients with outcomes and complications Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: Here the authors describe their experience with a novel iliac accessory rod technique to prevent rod fracture in patients undergoing surgery for ASD. The 2-year rod fracture rate (2.0%) in this study is significantly lower than the authors' historical dual-rod fracture rate, and other prospective multicenter investigations. Future studies with longer follow-up are needed to determine the durability of this technique.
• Iliac Accessory Rod Technique for Rod Fracture Prevention in Long Fusion Constructs: 2-Dimensional Operative Video Abstract: No abstract
• Use of Patient-Specific Interbody Cages Through a Minimally Invasive Lateral Approach for Unstable Lumbar Spondylodiskitis Abstract: CONCLUSION: Patients with irregular bony destruction due to diskitis/osteomyelitis may benefit from patient-specific cages for spinal reconstruction to address spinal instability and deformity.
• Neighbourhood deprivation, distance to nearest comprehensive stroke centre and access to endovascular thrombectomy for ischemic stroke: a population-based study Abstract: BACKGROUND: Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) has revolutionized ischemic stroke care. We aimed to assess whether neighbourhood socioeconomic status is predictive of access to EVT after receipt of alteplase for ischemic stroke among patients living in Alberta, Canada, and whether this relation is mediated by the distance a person lives to the nearest comprehensive stroke centre (CSC).
• Adult Cervical Deformity Patients Have Higher Baseline Frailty, Disability, and Comorbidities Compared With Complex Adult Thoracolumbar Deformity Patients: A Comparative Cohort Study of 616 Patients Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: Compared with ATLD patients, ACD patients had worse baseline characteristics on all measures assessed (comorbidities/disability/frailty). These differences may help account for greater risk of complications and all-cause mortality previously observed in ACD patients and facilitate strategies for better preoperative optimization.
• Missed pituitary microadenoma during endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing with symptom relief: illustrative case Abstract: BACKGROUND: Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) is a rare headache disorder that has been associated with pituitary adenomas. Resection has been posited to be curative.
• Characteristics of shunt failure in 38,095 adult shunt insertion surgeries: a systematic review and meta-analysis Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: Important variation regarding how to define, investigate, and report shunt failure was identified. The overall shunt failure rate in adults is at least 32% after 2 years, which, while lower than that typically reported in the pediatric population, is significant. The most common causes of shunt failure in adults are infection and obstruction. The most common site of failure occurred at the distal catheter, highlighting the need to develop strategies to both report and mitigate...
• Ultrasound Elastography in Neurosurgery: Current Applications and Future Perspectives Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: USE was found to be a safe, quick, portable, and economic tool that was a useful intraoperative adjunct to provide information corresponding to a variety of neurosurgical diseases, at different stages of surgery. This review describes the current intraoperative neurosurgical applications of USE, the concept of elasticity, and different USE modalities as well as the technical challenges, limitations, and possible future implications.
• Clinical outcomes in pediatric hydrocephalus patients treated with endoscopic third ventriculostomy and choroid plexus cauterization: a systematic review and meta-analysis Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis provides the most comprehensive pooled estimate for the ETV+CPC failure rate to date and demonstrates, for the first time, a statistically significant difference in failure rate by geographic income level. It also provides the first reported pooled estimates for the risk of ETV+CPC perioperative mortality, intraoperative abandonment, and CSF infection. The low quality of this evidence highlights the need for further research to improve the...
• The benefit of early surgery on overall survival in incidental low-grade glioma patients: A multicenter study Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study confirms the results of previous studies investigating surgical management of iLGGs and thereby strengthens the evidence in favor of early surgery for these lesions.
• Reducing the risks of proximal and distal shunt failure in adult hydrocephalus: a shunt outcomes quality improvement study Abstract: CONCLUSIONS: Introducing a shunt infection prevention protocol, placing the proximal catheter under neuronavigation, and placing the peritoneal catheter in the perihepatic space by using the falciform technique led to decreased rates of infection, distal shunt failure, and overall shunt failure.
• Innovation in unruptured intracranial aneurysm coiling: At which price or efficacy are new technologies cost-effective? Abstract: CONCLUSION: Cost-effectiveness does not appear to be a barrier to innovation in reducing the recanalization rate of UIA treated by endovascular coil embolization. Our model can now be utilized by academia and industry to accentuate economically feasible HTI and by healthcare payers to calculate their maximum willingness-to-pay for a new technology. Our results also indicate that predicting a patient's baseline risk of aneurysm recanalization is a critical area of future research.