Clinical Study of Tianji Robotic-Assisted Surgery for Upper Cervical Spine Fractures

Object: To compare the safety, clinical efficacy, and complication rate of “Tianji” robot-assisted surgery with traditional open surgery in the treatment of cervical vertebrae fracture. Methods: 60 patients with upper cervical vertebrae fracture admitted to Baise People’s Hospital between November 2018 and April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Among these patients, 29 underwent “Tianji” robot-assisted surgery (Robot group), and 31 underwent traditional C-arm fluoroscopy-assisted open surgery (Open group). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS 27.0 software to compare general data (gender, age, BMI), preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, neck disability index (NDI), intraoperative blood loss, accuracy of screw placement on imaging, and the number of complications in both groups for comprehensive evaluation. A P value < 0.05 was deemed to have achieved statistical significance. Results: There was no significant difference in preoperative VAS scores between the two groups (Robot group: 8.34 ± 0.61;Open group: 8.26 ± 0.68, P = 0.317). There was also no significant difference in VAS scores at 1 week postoperatively (Robot group: 6.90 ± 0.31;Open group: 6.94 ± 0.36, P = 0.3237). Preoperative NDI scores showed no significant difference between the two groups (Robot group: 43.31 ± 2.67;Open group: 43.84 ± 2.67, P = 0.2227), and the difference in NDI scores at 1 week postoperatively was also not significant (Robot group: 35.69 ± 4.24;Open group: 37.35 ± 3.48, P = 0.0509). Intraoperative blood loss in the Robot group was significantly lower than in the Open group (246.21 ± 209 ml vs 380.65 ± 328.04 ml, P = 0.0308), with a statistically significant difference. The operation time was longer in the Robot group (3.75 ± 0.74 h) compared to the Open group (2.74 ± 0.86 h). In terms of screw placement accuracy, the Robot group had a higher accuracy rate for Class A screws compared to the Open group (102 screws vs 94 screws, P = 0.0487), and the accuracy rate for Class B screws was also higher in the Robot group (13 screws vs 29 screws, P = 0.0333), with both differences being statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the number of complications between the two groups (Robot group: 8 cases;Open group: 10 cases, P = 0.6931). Conclusion: Patients treated with “Tianji” robot-assisted surgery for upper cervical vertebrae fracture had lower intraoperative blood loss and higher screw placement accuracy compared to those undergoing traditional C-arm fluoroscopy-assisted open surgery, indicating that this robot-assisted surgery can effectively reduce intraoperative blood loss and improve screw placement accuracy.

Primary Treatment for Clinically Early Cervical Cancer with Lymph Node Metastasis:Radical Surgery or Radiation?

Objective To compare survival outcomes between primary radical surgery and primary radiation in early cervical cancer.Methods Patient information was extracted from the Surveillance,Epidemiology,and Results database.Patients diagnosed with early cervical cancer of stage T1a,T1b,and T2a(American Joint Committee on Cancer,7th edition)from 1998 to 2015 were included in this study after propensity score matching.Overall survival(OS)was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results Among the 4964 patients included in the study,1080 patients were identified as having positive lymph nodes(N1),and 3884 patients were identified as having negative lymph nodes(N0).Patients with primary surgery had significantly longer 5-year OS than those with primary radiotherapy in both the N1 group(P<0.001)and N0 group(P<0.001).In the subgroup analysis,similar results were found in patients with positive lymph nodes of stage T1a(100.0%vs.61.1%),T1b(84.1%vs.64.3%),and T2a(74.4%vs.63.8%).In patients with T1b1 and T2a1,primary surgery resulted in longer OS than primary radiation,but not in patients with T1b2 and T2a2.In multivariate analysis,the primary treatment was identified as an independent prognostic factor in both N1 and N0 patients(HR_(N1)=2.522,95%CI=1.919–3.054,PN1<0.001;HR_(N0)=1.895,95%CI=1.689–2.126,PN0<0.001).Conclusion In early cervical cancer stage T1a,T1b1,and T2a1,primary surgery may result in longer OS than primary radiation for patients with and without lymph node metastasis.

Effect of cervical spine surgery on the biomechanics of the cervical spine

In clinical practice,cervical spine surgery inevitably alters the original physiological structure of the cervical spine,thus causing changes in the original biomechanical properties of the cervical spine.The biomechanical properties of the cervical spine are particularly significant as it is an essential structure that supports the head and connects the trunk.Different cervical spine surgery options can have different effects on the biomechanics of the cervical spine.Therefore,this review will discuss recent research advances on the effects of cervical spine surgery on cervical spine biomechanics.We hope that this review will provide some theoretical basis for future studies on the biomechanical effects of cervical spine surgery on the cervical spine.

Another Look at Skeletal Maturation Using Hand Wrist and Cervical Vertebrae Evaluation

Introduction and Aims—The Growth stage of a patient can have considerable influence on diagnosis, treatment goals, timing and planning and the eventual outcome of orthodontic/orthopedic treatment. The purpose of this study was to analyze associations between the cervical vertebrae maturation score (CVMS) and skeletal maturation index (SMI). The second objective was to determine the reproducibility of the measurements on lateral cephalograms and hand-wrist radiographs. Materials and Methods—Lateral cephalometric and left hand-wrist radiographs of 92 untreated subjects (44 females and 48 males) aged from 8 to 17 years were obtained from the files of the Columbia University, Division of Orthodontics and measured for growth stage using cervical vertebrae and hand-wrist methods. Results—A high correlation was revealed between the hand-wrist and cervical vertebrae measurements. The Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient was 0.925 and significant at the 0.01 level. The correlation between hand-wrist and age (0.665, p < 0.01) was slightly greater than that of the CVMS (0.611, p < 0.01). Intra rater reliability was high. When the three categorically modified methods of the Fishman’s 11 skeletal maturation stages in hand and wrist analysis were used to compare with CVMS, methods 2 and 3 were both statistically significantly different according to the Wilcoxon signed ranks test and the Sign test at a significance level of less than 0.05. However, for method 1, the tests showed probability scores of 0.028 and 0.151, respectively, showing no significant difference at the 0.01 level in the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, and no significant difference in the 0.01 and 0.05 level in the Signed Test. Conclusions—The Fishman’s hand and wrist skeletal maturation index and Bacetti’s cervical vertebrae maturation stages are both useful tools in evaluating growth stages. Fishman’s hand-wrist method is slightly more accurate.

Effect of AXIS lateral mass screw-plate internal fixation system on functional recovery of spinal cord in fracture of lower cervical vertebrae

AIM:To evaluate the methods and results of the AXIS lateral mass screw plate system in the treating of lower cervical spine injury.METHODS:29 cases of lower cervical vertebrae injury were fixed with AXIS system.All of them were followed up for more than 1 year.RESULTS:All cases had a good bone union without malformation.We found no complication of the injury to the vertebral arteries or nerves.There was no loosening of the plate and screw. CONCLUSION:AXIS lateral mass screw plate system has the characteristic of stable,simple and safe and is suitable for the treatment of lower cervical spine injury.

Removal of the Shadow of Cervical Vertebrae from Panoramic X-Ray Images with a Tomosynthesis Method

The purpose of this study is to remove the shadow of cervical vertebrae from dental panoramic x-ray images with a tomosynthesis method and improve the contrast of details in both the teeth and jaw bones. To measure the shift-amount at each angular position that was required for reconstruction of panoramic x-ray images of the dental arch, strip images of a calibration phantom were acquired. Then, a shift-amount table was prepared from these images, and the other shift-amount table, which was used to reconstruct a panoramic image of the cervical vertebrae, was prepared by inverting the curve of the shift-amount table upside down. Using these two tables, images focused on the dental arch and cervical vertebrae of a patient were made with the original strip data of the patient. The shadow of the cervical vertebrae appearing on the image focused on the dental arch was removed using the two above-mentioned images and blurring functions defined at two focusing geometries. The validity of the proposed method was evaluated with clinically acquired data of two patients. The shadow of the cervical vertebrae was successfully eliminated, and the contrast of the front teeth and detailed structures of the jaw bones was improved. The results of the experiments showed that our proposed method was significantly effective in removing the shadow of the cervical vertebrae from conventional panoramic x-ray images.

MANAGEMENT OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID LEAKAGE FOLLOWING CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY

Objective To investigate the management and outcome of cerebrospinal fluid leakage(CSFL)after cervical surgery.Methods Medical records of 642 patients who underwent cervical surgery between December 1999 and December 2005 at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed.Five patients complicated by CSFL after surgery were enrolled,of which 4 cases were complicated after ossified posterior longitudinal ligament or posterior vertebral osteophyte resection directly injuring the dura,and 1 case after posterior cervical double-door laminoplasty without observed dural injury during surgery.Of the 5 CSFL cases,4 cases occurred at 1-3 days after operation and 1 case at 9 days after operation.All 5 postoperative CSFL cases were treated through wound drainage removal,wound sutures,prophylactic antibiotics,and continuous subarachnoid drainage in the elevated head position.Results All 5 CSFL cases experienced leakage cessation within 1-3 days and wound healing within 4-8 days,and subarachnoid drainage lasted 11-16 days with an average volume of 320 mL(range,150-410 mL).Four cases experienced headache,nausea and vomiting,1 case suffered from somnolence and hyponatremia,and symptoms subsided after symptomatic treatment and intravenous fluid administration.All patients were followed up for an average of 32 months(range,22-50 months).No occurrence of cerebrospinal fluid cyst or wound infection was observed.CSFL produced no significant negative effects upon neuromuscular function recovery.Conclusion Continuous subarachnoid cavity drainage in combination with elevated head position is a simple and safe non-surgical method in treatment of CSFL following cervical surgery.

Advances in the treatment of cervical rheumatoid: Less surgery and less morbidity

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease that often affects the cervical spine.While it was initially thought that cervical involvement was innocuous,natural history studies have substantiated the progressive nature of untreated disease.Over the past 50 years,there has been further elucidation in the pathophysiology of the disease,as well as significant advancements in medical and surgical therapy.The introduction of disease modifying drugs and biologic agents has reduced the amount of patients with advanced stages of the disease needing surgery.Advancement in instrumentation techniques has improved patient outcomes and fusion rates.The introduction of endoscopic approaches for ventral decompression may further lower surgical morbidity.In this review,we give a brief overview of the pertinent positives of the disease.A discussion of historical techniques and the evolution of surgical therapy into the modern era is provided.With improved medical therapies and lessinvasive approaches,we will likely continue to see less advanced cases of disease and less surgical morbidity.Nonetheless,a thorough understanding of the disease is crucial,as its systemic involvement and need for continued medical therapy have tremendous impact on overall complications and outcomes even in patients being seen for standard degenerative disease with comorbid rheumatoid.

Twenty One Cases of Vertebral-Artery-Type Cervical Spondylosis Treated with Acupuncture and Moxibustion

The vertebral-artery-type cervical spondylosis iscommonly encountered in the middle aged and oldpeople.The author has treated 21 cases of vertebral-artery-type cervical spondylosis by acupuncture andmoxibustion,with the other 19 cases treated only byacupuncture as the controls.The results are reportedas follows.Clinical

Uterine artery pseudoaneurysm caused by hysteroscopic surgery: A case report

BACKGROUND We report a case of uterine artery pseudoaneurysm(UAP)occurrence during hysteroscopic endometrial polypectomy and its treatment via uterine artery embolization(UAE).CASE SUMMARY A 48-year-old primigravid,primiparous patient was incidentally found to have an endometrial polyp during a health checkup,and underwent a hysteroscopic polypectomy at another hospital.Her cervix was dilated with a Laminken-R®device.After the Laminken-R®was withdrawn,a large amount of genital bleeding was observed.This bleeding persisted after the hysteroscopic polypectomy,and,as hemostasis became impossible,the patient was transferred to our hospital by ambulance.On arrival,transvaginal ultrasonography revealed a 3-cm hypoechoic mass with a swirling internal pulse on the right side of the uterus,and color Doppler ultrasonography showed feeder vessels penetrating the mass.Pelvic contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT)confirmed the presence of a mass at this site,and vascular proliferation was observed within the uterine cavity.Consequently,UAP was diagnosed,and UAE was performed.The patient’s postoperative course was uneventful,and 6 mo post-UAE,no recurrence of blood flow to the UAP was observed.CONCLUSION When abnormal genital bleeding occurs during hysteroscopic surgery,ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced CT can assist in the detection of early UAPs.

Dr.Zhang's Experience in Massotherapy for Treatment of Vertebral-Artery-Type Cervical Spondylopathy

Thirty cases of vertebral-artery-type cervical spondylopathy were treated by Dr. Zhang Tao's technique. The cure rate was 50%, and the total effective rate was 100%.

Emergent reintubation following elective cervical surgery:A case series

AIM To review cases of emergent reintubation after cervical surgery.METHODS Patients who were emergently intubated in the postoperative period following cervical surgery were identified. The patients' prospectively documented demographic parameters, medical history and clinical symptoms were ascertained. Pre-operative radiographs were examined for the extent of their pathology. The details of the operative procedure were discerned.RESULTS Eight hundred and eighty patients received anterioror combined anterior-posterior cervical surgery from 2008-2013. Nine patients(1.02%) required emergent reintubation. The interval between extubation to reintubation was 6.2 h [1-12]. Patients were kept intubated after reintubation for 2.3 d [2-3]. Seven patients displayed moderate postoperative edema. One patient was diagnosed with a compressive hematoma whichwas subsequently evacuated in the OR. Another patient was diagnosed with a pulmonary effusion and treated with diuretics. One patient received a late debridement for an infected hematoma. Six patients reported residual symptoms and three patients made a complete recovery. CONCLUSION Respiratory compromise is a rare but potentially life threatening complication following cervical surgery. Patients at increased risk should be monitored closely for extended periods of time post-operatively. If the airway is restored adequately in a timely manner through emergent re-intubation, the outcome of the patients is generally favorable.

Surgical strategy used in multilevel cervical disc replacement and cervical hybrid surgery:Four case reports

BACKGROUND Multilevel artificial cervical disc replacement and anterior hybrid surgery have been introduced as reliable treatments for multilevel cervical degenerative disc disease.Surgical techniques are important for resolving patients’symptoms and maintaining the normal functioning of cervical implants.However,the use of inappropriate surgical strategies could lead to complications such as implant migration and neurological deficit.In this paper,we summarize our surgical strategies used in multilevel cervical disc replacement and hybrid surgery into five major notes.CASE SUMMARY We share the key notes and our surgical procedures in the form of four typical case presentations.All patients were diagnosed with cervical degenerative disc disease with myelopathy or radiculopathy and needed multilevel cervical spine surgery.The first case demonstrated that index levels indicating the presence of highly serious spinal cord compression required a prioritized decompression.The second case demonstrated that the disc replacement should be performed before fusion in cervical hybrid surgery.The third and forth cases demonstrated that a top-down implantation sequence was needed in continuous two-level cervical disc replacement.The symptoms of all patients were significantly relieved after surgery.CONCLUSION We hope that our surgical strategies can help improve the performance and outcomes of multilevel cervical spine surgery.

Vitamin B12 Screening in Cervical Spine Surgery Patients

Introduction Vitamin B12 is very vital for the nervous system. Its deficiency can manifest with neurological symptoms like pain and paresthesias and in severe cases may cause not completely restorable neurological damage, especially in elderly patients. Methods The charts of 702 patients who underwent cervical spine surgery retrospectively reviewed and data collected . All patients were preoperatively seen by an internist who ordered Vit B12 levels for some of them. We used two thresholds for the diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency, 200 and 300 pg/mL as recommended by Yao et al. 1992. Data were also collected on gender, payor status, myelopathy, hemoglobin level, corpuscular parameters and glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c). Vitamin B12 levels were compared between patients with HbA1c levels ≥ 6.1% and <6.1%. Differences between patients ≥ and < than the median age were studied. The median age of the patient cohort was 52. Results Hemoglobin level was recorded for 659 patients. Vit B12 levels were ordered for 291 patients only. Overall, 13.7% had decreased hemoglobin level (anemia), 30.2% had decreased Vit B12 levels by the 300 threshold, 6.9% had decreased Vit B12 levels by the 200 threshold, 6.3% decreased MCV (microcytosis), and 2.8% increased MCV (macrocytosis). Only four patients (0.7%), of whom older than 52, had decreased hemoglobin level and increased MCV (macrocytic anemia) and one patient (0.4%), who was also older than 52, had decreased hemoglobin level, increased MCV and Vit B12 level < 200 pg/mL (macrocytic anemia duo to Vit B12 deficiency). Dividing the patient sample into three age groups, <40, 40-59, and ≥ 60 years, we investigated the trend of cobalamin deficiency by age and found an increase in cobalamin deficiency after 40 from 0% to 7.4% (200 threshold). Uninsured patients (25%) using the 200 pg/mL threshold and workers’ compensation (54.5%) and uninsured patients (50.0%) had the highest rate of Vit B12 deficiency using the 300 pg/mL threshold. The few patients with macrocytic anemia (N=4) and macrocytic anemia due to Vit B12 deficiency (N=1) had health coverage. Conclusion Vit B12 deficiency in cervical spine surgery patients may not necessarily mean macrocytic anemia but may precede macrocytic anemia. Therefore, Vit B12 deficiency screening on the preoperative visit is warranted especially in uninsured or older patients or both. Preoperative treatment may be indicated and correlation with postoperative outcome is suggested for future research.

The Establishment and Development of Finite Element Model of Human Cervical Vertebra and Its Application Example

The incidence rate of cervical spondylosis is high,and due to the complicacy of cervical vertebra structure,irregularity of shapes and non-uniformity of components,sometimes it’s difficult to achieve planned objectives by experiments in vitro through stress and strain analysis. Besides,the biomechanical factors are of vital significance in the cause of spinal disorders. In this paper the author makes a summary of the present modeling of human cervical vertebra and describes the major methods of establishing the finite element model of human cervical vertebra through several self-constructed models. With the advance of computer technology,the finite element methods have been rapidly developed in cervical vertebra biomechanical researches and have became a major approach for biomechanical researches to simulate more and more clinical conditions.

Darier-Ferrand Dermofibrosarcoma: A Case Report of a Cervical Localization

Darier-Ferrand dermatofibrosarcoma (DFS) is a cutaneous mesenchymal tumor of intermediate malignancy. It is a rare but not exceptional tumor, accounting for 0.1% of malignant skin tumors. Histological examination is essential for diagnosis. Wide surgical excision is the standard treatment. DFS is a tumor whose prognosis and evolutionary risk are mainly linked to the delay in diagnosis and the quality of the first excision. Late diagnosis makes excision and reconstruction surgery difficult. The chances of recovery in the case of well-performed primary surgery are significantly greater than in the case of salvage surgery. To improve prognosis, early, codified, multidisciplinary management is essential. In our African context, and especially in the case of patients living in rural areas, errant diagnoses are often found hence the importance of raising awareness and providing information to healthcare personnel. We report a case of an enlarged left supraclavicular Darier-Ferrand dermatofibrosarcoma. The patient had come for a late consultation at a stage when the tumour was large. The CT scan was a great help in the pre-operative phase. The patient underwent complete surgical excision, the postoperative course was straightforward and the histology of the surgical specimen confirmed the diagnosis. The resection margins were healthy. The patient is alive at one year with no recurrence or metastasis.

Operative treatment via anterior approaches for cervicothoracic vertebrae tumors:surgical techniques and primary outcome

Objective： To sum up 7 patients with cervicothoracic vertebrae tumors （Cr to T3） from March 1999 and May 2002, who underwent operative treatment via anterior approaches. Methods ：The anterior approaches included low anterior cervical approach and high transthoracic approach. In 5 cases of segments of T1 and above involved, the low anterior cervical approaches were adopted, otherwise the high transthoracic approaches were used（2 cases）. Excision of tumor was carried out according to demands of the Weinstein-Boriani-Biagini （WBB） staging system. Spine stability was reconstructed by bone autografting and instrumentation. There were 4 cases of primary tumor and 3 of metastases. Their mean age was 45. 1 years （23 to 66）. The mean follow-up was 18.9 months （3 to 45）. Results were evaluated by occurrence of complications, improvement of symptoms, local recurrence and mortality. Results： All patients stood surgery well. No significant complications occurred during and after operation. Local pain was significantly alleviated and neurological deficit was improved at least one Frankel grade. Three patients died. Local tumor control was obtained in 6 patients （85.7 % ） until the end of follow-up. Conclusion.-Our experience showed that via low anterior cervical approach and high transthoracic approach, the cervicothoracic vertebrae tumor could be excised safely and adequately. Moreover, excision of tumor according to the WBB surgical staging system and reconstruction of spine stability have made great contribution to local tumor control and the neurological function improvement.

The design of a cervical vertebra titanium plate-interbody fusion cage

Objective： To study the biomechanical feature of a newly designed cervical vertebra internal fixation device and its clinical applications. Methods： Some functional spinal units were fixed respectively with titanium plate, fusion cage and new device designed by ourselves, then a controlled biomechanical study including flexion, extension, torsion and lateral bending was performed and the results were analyzed. Results： As to the mechanical performance, fusion cage showed poor performance in extension test and so did the titanium plate in the distortion test. However, the new device showed good performance in every test. Conclusion： Both simple titanium plate fixation and simple fusion cage fixation have biomechanical defaults, but they are complementary. The titanium plate-interbody fusion cage avoids the defaults and has specific advantages.

3D Vector Reconstruction of the Typical Cervical Vertebra from Anatomical Sections of Korean Visible Human at the Laboratory of Clinical and Digital Anatomy of Paris Descartes University

Aim: To carry out a 3D vector reconstruction of the typical cervical vertebra from anatomical sections of the “Korean Visible Human” for educational purposes. Material and Methods: The anatomical subject was a 33-year-old Korean man who died of leukemia. He was 164 cm tall and weighed 55 kg. This man donated his body to science. Her body was frozen and cut into several anatomical sections after an MRI and CT scan. These anatomical sections were made using a special saw called a 0.2 mm thick cryomacrotome. Thus 8100 cuts were obtained. Only the sections numbered 940 to 1200 were used for our study. A segmentation by manual contouring of the different parts of the typical cervical vertebra was made using the software Winsurf version 3.5 on a laptop PC running Windows 7 equipped with a Ram of 8 gigas. Results: Our 3D vector model of the typical cervical vertebra is easily manipulated using the Acrobat 3DPDF interface. Each part of the vertebra accessible in a menu can be displayed, hidden or made transparent, and 3D labels are available as well as educational menus for learning anatomy. Conclusion: This original work constitutes a remarkable educational tool for the anatomical study of the typical cervical vertebra and can also be used as a 3D atlas for simulation purposes for training in therapeutic gestures.

Lumbar Facet Cyst Causing S1 Radiculopathy with Concomittent Acute on Chronic Cervical Prolapse Intervertebral Disc, a Rare Case Report

Tandem spinal stenosis is described as concurrent symptomatic cervical and lumbar spinal stenosis. The clinical presentation includes neurogenic claudication, gait disturbance, myelopathy and polyradicuopathy in both upper and lower limbs. A 43-year-old female presented with predominant low back pain with right S1 radiculopathy leading to diagnosis of synovial facet cyst of lumbar spine. She was managed surgically after medical treatment failed. After 1 week post operatively, she presented with severe neck pain with left radiculopathy. MRI revealed acute on chronic cervical prolapsed intervertebral disc, cervical decompression surgery proceeded. Post operative improvement was noted on follow up. We report a case of tandem spinal stenosis, which both of the pathologies were managed with endoscopic approach.