Spine Archive

SUMMARY: This narrative review discusses how robotic platforms are being adopted in spine surgery and outlines training tools and ethical considerations needed to ensure surgeon proficiency.

SUMMARY: Traditional regression-based risk scores remain competitive and trusted versus AI/ML models for spine surgery risk prediction, which still face validation and workflow integration barriers.

SUMMARY: In 405 patients with thoracic idiopathic scoliosis, selective thoracic fusion works safely for curves under 80 degrees if fusion levels are chosen carefully, otherwise fusion should extend to the sacrum for balance.

SUMMARY: In this 60-patient cohort, a conservative-first approach for giant extruded/sequestered lumbar disc herniation avoided surgery in 88% at 24 months, with rim enhancement on MRI showing potential (but not definitive) prognostic value.

SUMMARY: Standard screening criteria (abnormal exam, left-sided curve, hyperkyphosis) missed 34% of Chiari malformation/syrinx cases in operative pediatric scoliosis, arguing for broader preoperative MRI use.

SUMMARY: A national policy analysis found most insurers requiring smoking cessation before spinal fusion treat nicotine replacement therapy as equivalent to smoking, despite limited evidence it harms fusion outcomes.

SUMMARY: This meta-analysis found stronger social support, including marital status, was linked to shorter hospital stays, fewer readmissions, and better outcomes after nontraumatic spine surgery.

SUMMARY: This 1962 landmark paper introduces the original Harrington rod-and-hook instrumentation system for surgically correcting and stabilizing scoliosis.

SUMMARY: In 1015 ACDF patients, overall morbidity was 19.3%, with dysphagia, hematoma, and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy being the most common complications and mortality only 0.1%.

SUMMARY: In a large Japanese multicenter study, elderly patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy achieved clinically meaningful neurological improvement after surgery but had significantly less recovery of physical function and limb function than younger patients, underscoring the value of adding patient-reported outcomes to surgical assessment.

SUMMARY: Among 35 delayed anterior cervical revision cases, peri-plate gas on CT was highly specific (96.3%) for esophageal perforation, offering a useful red-flag to trigger targeted workup.

SUMMARY: In 108 degenerative lumbar scoliosis patients, short-segment standalone LLIF showed low early revision rates (8.3% within 2 years) with durable coronal correction, and revision risk was driven by age, not radiographic parameters.

SUMMARY: In 328 ASD patients, postoperative C2 coronal angle ≤3.5° independently predicted better SRS-22/SF-36/NDI outcomes and outperformed C7-CSVL, suggesting it as a useful coronal alignment target.

SUMMARY: In a multicenter cohort of Prader-Willi syndrome patients, spinal fusion achieved durable deformity correction but carried notable perioperative complication and reoperation risk, especially with higher BMI.

SUMMARY: PROMIS scores show pediatric disc herniation patients have significant pain and mobility impairment, with surgery yielding faster symptom relief despite worse baseline function versus non-operative care.

SUMMARY: This literature review found AIS patients typically return to sport 6-18 months after spinal fusion, with up to a third switching to lower-impact activities but no reported complications from RTS.

SUMMARY: A Delphi-based expert panel establishes consensus best-practice guidelines defining high-risk patients and standardizing prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of surgical site infection in pediatric spine surgery.

SUMMARY: This review outlines current classification, bracing/casting, and surgical strategies (hemiepiphysiodesis, growing rods, hemivertebra excision, definitive fusion) for managing progressive congenital scoliosis in children.

SUMMARY: This review summarizes current uses of 3D printing in spine surgery (preoperative modeling, custom implants, screw guides) while noting long-term outcome data remain scarce.

SUMMARY: This review explains how diffusion-dependent nutrient supply to avascular disc cells, when impaired by endplate calcification or vascular changes, contributes to disc degeneration.

SUMMARY: Cadaveric biomechanical testing showed lateral pedicle wall violation reduces screw anchorage strength, and redirecting these screws further weakens fixation rather than restoring it.

SUMMARY: A systematic review of Japanese studies found DISH/L-DISH associated with higher reoperation and nonunion risk after lumbar degenerative surgery, but evidence certainty was very low and causality unproven.

SUMMARY: In geriatric sacral fractures, spondylosis/spondylolisthesis, prior independent ambulation, and atraumatic mechanism independently predicted U-type (spinopelvic dissociation) morphology, identifying a distinct at-risk profile.

SUMMARY: Patients needing both lumbar fusion and total hip arthroplasty had delayed clinically meaningful recovery, but performing lumbar fusion before THA (rather than after) resulted in recovery timelines closer to THA-only patients.

SUMMARY: This scoping review of 133 studies maps institution-based quality improvement initiatives in spine surgery, finding most focus on efficiency and safety but lack long-term outcome data.

SUMMARY: This review finds nearly 70% of herniated lumbar disks resorb spontaneously, with larger size, sequestration, and MRI rim enhancement predicting resorption, supporting nonoperative management in select patients.

SUMMARY: SRS task force review synthesizes current knowledge on osteoporosis diagnosis, surgical risk, and non-operative/operative management in adult spinal deformity surgery.

SUMMARY: This JBJS review covers cauda equina syndrome's epidemiology, diagnosis, and debated decompression timing, while highlighting the significant legal risk tied to delayed diagnosis.

SUMMARY: This review establishes that restoring proper spinopelvic alignment—particularly sagittal vertical axis, pelvic tilt, and lordosis proportional to pelvic incidence—is essential for good outcomes in adult spinal deformity surgery.

SUMMARY: In a matched cohort of 100 lumbar fusion patients, adding a cellular bone allograft to rhBMP-2 did not improve fusion rates or pain but significantly raised blood loss and cost.