Sep 14–20, 2026 · 24 new studies, 10 reviews · Spine archive · All weeks
The new Spine research The Reduction sent the week of Sep 14–20, 2026, with the week’s most recent reviews, each with a one-line summary.
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In a RCT of 118 TLIF patients, liposomal bupivacaine via ESPB cut opioid/PCA use more than a cheaper modified analgesic cocktail, though both controlled early pain well.
In 36 spinal chordoma patients, PET/CT-derived metabolic burden plus SINS>10 and Enneking stage IIB identified a hypermetabolic, aggressive subtype with high risk of recurrence, metastasis, or death, enabling a preoperative risk score.
Multicenter registry study finds robotic-assisted navigation achieves 97% accurate pedicle screw placement in early onset scoliosis surgery, though technical challenges like registration and calibration issues were common.
Surgical Outcome of Modified Woodward Procedure in Congenital Undescended Scapula.
Modified Woodward procedure for Sprengel deformity produced significant gains in shoulder motion, scapular position, and patient-reported function, even in older children and those with scoliosis.
A bundled infection-prevention protocol (nasal decolonization, chlorhexidine bathing, glycemic control, aseptic reinforcement) cut surgical site infections after spinal fusion from 2.9% to 0.4%.
In a trauma cohort, congenital cervical stenosis was more prevalent among Black patients than White patients, most commonly at C3-C4 rather than the traditionally reported C5 level.
An automated AI pipeline for measuring vertebral bone quality on lumbar MRI correlated well with manual review and improved sensitivity for detecting DXA-defined osteoporosis at an optimized threshold.
South Korean national data (2010-2024) show vertebroplasty use steadily rising—especially among patients 80 and older—diverging from the US shift toward kyphoplasty after sham-trial evidence.
In 400 patients after anterior cervical fusion, radiographic adjacent segment changes were common (35%) but clinically significant disease and reoperation were rare (~2-3%), showing a staged progression over time.
In 796 spinal metastasis surgery patients, allogenic RBC transfusion was independently and dose-dependently associated with higher 30-day infection risk with no safe transfusion threshold identified, supporting restrictive transfusion strategies.
Paraspinal Muscle Quality and Functional Outcome After Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Surgery.
In 344 lumbar spinal stenosis surgery patients, greater preoperative multifidus fatty infiltration—but not psoas size—predicted worse two-year disability outcomes and lower odds of meaningful improvement.
This study develops a modifiable frailty index (o-ASD-FI) for adult spinal deformity surgery that incorporates treatable comorbidities and independently predicts longer stay, complications, and worse outcomes, potentially improving preoperative risk stratification.
This systematic review of 959 patients found nerve and tendon transfers both restore useful strength after cervical spinal cord injury, though brachialis-to-AIN nerve transfer outcomes were notably poor, guiding procedure selection.
Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis: Are Its Prevalence and Severity Increasing.
Over a decade, spinal epidural lipomatosis prevalence in lumbar decompression patients rose significantly, with smoking and higher BMI linked to greater severity, implicating modifiable risk factors.
Analysis of over 6,000 hospital contracts shows negotiated prices for spinal deformity surgery vary widely, driven mainly by hospital system affiliation, size, labor costs, and market competition rather than clinical factors.
In this cohort, 68% of patients had persistent neck/shoulder symptoms 2 years after DCM surgery, with female sex, longer symptom duration, and higher preoperative VAS score predicting persistence.
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.
A novel 3D Hounsfield unit method using routine CT scans matched QCT's accuracy for diagnosing osteoporosis and osteopenia, enabling opportunistic screening without extra cost or radiation.
In this 5-year multicenter study, MIS and open surgery for grade 1 spondylolisthesis showed similar early outcomes, but MIS produced greater and more durable ODI improvement by 24 and 60 months, especially with fusion.
Safety of Combined Anterior and Posterior Fusion in the Elderly Population.
In propensity-matched patients, combined anterior-posterior lumbar fusion had similar complication rates in those ≥70 and <70 years old, supporting age not being a strict contraindication.
A larger early postoperative rise in P1NP (a bone formation marker) independently predicted one-year pseudarthrosis after ACDF, suggesting a potential role for anabolic therapy trials in high-risk patients.
An ANTs template-based registration framework predicted lumbar pedicle screw entry/target points with reasonable geometric accuracy, supporting automated patient-specific preoperative planning.
A feasibility series of 7 patients shows fully navigated biportal endoscopic lumbar decompression using non-invasive surface registration is safe and reproducible, with no registration failures or complications.
Hinge fractures after open-door laminoplasty were more common in men with larger preoperative C2 SVA and led to early neck pain and kyphotic change, though most fractures healed by one year.
SRS task force review synthesizes current knowledge on osteoporosis diagnosis, surgical risk, and non-operative/operative management in adult spinal deformity surgery.
A scoping review of published reviews on the use of bracing in scoliosis.
This scoping review of 59 studies confirms bracing reduces curve progression and surgery rates in AIS with adherence as key, but finds the evidence base largely low-quality and identifies gaps for future research.
This review highlights the lack of standardized, evidence-based return-to-play protocols after cervical spine surgery in elite rugby union, calling for a multidisciplinary, sport-specific guideline to improve player safety.
This review of 346 patients across six retrospective studies found rhBMP-2 use in surgery for pyogenic spinal infections achieved high fusion rates (~98%) and low reinfection (1.5%), supporting its selective use pending prospective trials.
Improving Patient Outcomes by Reducing Anemia and Bleeding in Pediatric Spine Surgery.
This review argues that multidisciplinary patient blood management, blood conservation techniques, and ERAS protocols can reduce perioperative anemia and transfusion needs in pediatric spine surgery.
Institution-Based Quality and Safety Improvement Initiatives in Spine Surgery: A Scoping Review.
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.
The Application of Artificial Intelligence in Spine Surgery: A Scoping Review.
This scoping review of 105 studies (2020-2024) found AI in spine surgery is mostly used for prognostication and diagnosis via supervised/deep learning, though most data are single-center and small-scale.
Cauda Equina Syndrome: A Review of Classification, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Best Practices.
This JBJS review covers cauda equina syndrome's epidemiology, diagnosis, and debated decompression timing, while highlighting the significant legal risk tied to delayed diagnosis.
Preserving privacy in big data research: the role of federated learning in spine surgery.
Federated learning enables decentralized, privacy-preserving machine learning across institutions and shows promise for predictive modeling, telesurgery, and image segmentation in spine surgery.
Literature review finds C1 osteosynthesis for isolated C1 arch fractures with transverse ligament rupture offers good fusion, deformity correction, and motion preservation compared with C1-2 fusion, though stronger evidence is needed.
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