Intracardiac,pulmonary cement embolism in a 67-year-old female after cement-augmented pedicle screw instrumentation:A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND We report a case of Intracardiac,pulmonary,and intravenous cement embolism after cement-augmented pedicle screw instrumentation in treating spondylolisthesis underlying osteoporotic bone,which was successfully managed by conservative treatment.We describe the treatment and outcome of the patient,hoping to shed light on the management of bone cement embolism.CASE SUMMARY A 67-year-old female suffered from progressive low back pain and numbness in lower extremities for 30 years.She was diagnosed with L4 and L5 spondylolisthesis,spinal stenosis,and osteoporosis.The patient underwent spinal canal decompression,an interbody fusion of L4/5 and L5/S1,cement-augmented pedicle screw instrumentation in L4-L5 segments,and regular pedicle screw in S1 segments.Three days postoperatively,a sudden drop in oxygen saturation occurred.Computerized tomography scan confirmed Intracardiac,pulmonary,and intravenous embolism.The patient was treated conservatively by continuous low-flow oxygen inhalation,anti-coagulation,and antibiotic therapy for 1 mo and continued anticoagulation treatment for 6 mo.The patient showed no further symptoms in a 30-mo follow-up.CONCLUSION Intracardiac,pulmonary cement embolism after cement-augmented pedicle screw instrumentation is extremely rare.Careful clinical and radiographic evaluation is required in multiple sites of bone cement embolism.Conservative treatment may be a primary consideration in scattered emboli without life-threatening conditions,but a clinical decision should be made on an individualized basis.

Expandable pedicle screw instrumentation plus cement augmentation in surgery for severely osteoporotic spine

Objective To evaluate short-teerm clinical and radiographic results of a novel expandable pedicle screw instrumentation combined with cement augmentation in surgery for severely osteoporotic spine.Methods From October 2006 to October

Surgical treatment for scoliosis extending to main thoracic spine by key-vertebral-screws technique (KVST)

Objective:To introduce a key-vertebral-screws technique(KVST) in the surgical treatment of scoliosis extending to main thoracic levels, and to find the role of fulcrum bending in predicting the result of surgical treatment for scoliosis by this technique. Methods: Seventeen consecutive patients with scoliosis extending to main thoracic spine,who underwent pure posterior fusion without anterior or posterior release by KVST between January 2004 and July 2005 were evaluated for fulcrum bending flexibility, surgical correction rate, fulcrum bending correction index (FBCI) in main thoracic curves. Universal Spine System (USS) instrumentation was used in 15 cases,Monarch in another 2 cases. The severity of the curves was measured by Cobb's method using Rad Work 6. 0 software. Preoperative standing AP radiographs, preoperative fulcrum bending anterioposterior (AP) radiographs, postoperative standing AP radiographs, and most recent follow-up standing AP radiographs for spine were measured and recorded. All the data were analyzed with two-sample paired t-test by Origin 7. 0 software. Results: Infection and neurological complications were not noted. No major complications were found. Just one case had some axial back pain, which got a full recovery from physiotherapy for 2 weeks. In the X-ray, there was an average correction of 71. 5% of the fused main thoracic curves, which had no significant lose of correction in final follow-up. For the whole fused main thoracic curves, the fulcrum bending flexibility were lower to operation correction rate (P = 0. 013). The average FBCI was 123%. From the data, the more rigid curves (especially fulcrum bending flexibility <50%), the more correction rate operation could get, compared with fulcrum bending flexibility. Conclusion: (1) KVST is a good method in the surgical treatment of thoracic scoliosis, which can get satisfying result with lower medical cost. (2) Fulcrum bending flexibility is lower than operative correction rate by KVST in main thoracic curves (P<0. 05). In the more rigid curves assessed by fulcrum-bending radiograph, the operative corrective could be gained, especially in the curves which FBCI is lower than 50%.