Although compartment syndrome can occur in any compartment in the body, it rarely occurs in the paraspinal musculature and has therefore only been reported in a few case reports. Despite its rare occurrence, acute paraspinal compartment syndrome has been shown to occur secondary to reperfusion injury and traumatic and atraumatic causes. Diagnosis can be based on clinical examination findings, MRI or CT studies, or through direct measurement of intramuscular pressures. Conservative management should only be used in the setting of chronic presentation. Operative decompression via fasciotomy in cases of acute presentation may improve the patient’s symptoms and outcomes. When treating acute paraspinal compartment syndrome via surgical decompression, an important aspect is the anatomical consideration. Although grouped under one name, each paraspinal muscle is enclosed within its own fascial compartment, all of which must be addressed to achieve an adequate decompression. The authors present the case of a 43-year-old female patient who presented to the emergency department with increasing low-back and flank pain after a fall. Associated sensory deficits in a cutaneous distribution combined with imaging and clinical findings contributed to the diagnosis of acute traumatic paraspinal compartment syndrome. The authors discuss this case and describe their surgical technique for managing acute paraspinal compartment syndrome.
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Katharine D. Harper, Dayna Phillips, Joseph M. Lopez, and Zeeshan Sardar
Nathan J. Lee, Michael Fields, Fthimnir M. Hassan, Scott L. Zuckerman, Alex S. Ha, Joseph M. Lombardi, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Ronald A. Lehman, and Lawrence G. Lenke
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to describe an intraoperative method that accurately predicts postoperative coronal alignment for up to 2 years of follow-up. The authors hypothesized that the intraoperative coronal target for adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery should account for lower-extremity parameters, including pelvic obliquity (PO), leg length discrepancy (LLD), lower-extremity mechanical axis difference (MAD), and asymmetrical knee bending.
METHODS
Two lines were drawn on intraoperative prone radiographs: the central sacral pelvic line (CSPL) (the line bisecting the sacrum and perpendicular to the line touching the acetabular sourcil of both hips) and the intraoperative central sacral vertical line (iCSVL) (which is drawn relative to CSPL based on the preoperative erect PO). The distance from the C7 spinous process to CSPL (C7-CSPL) and the distance from the C7 spinous process to iCSVL (iCVA) were compared with immediate and 2-year postoperative CVA. To account for LLD and preoperative lower-extremity compensation, patients were categorized into four preoperative groups: type 1, no LLD (< 1 cm) and no lower-extremity compensation; type 2, no LLD with lower-extremity compensation (PO > 1°, asymmetrical knee bending, and MAD > 2°); type 3, LLD and no lower-extremity compensation; and type 4, LLD with lower-extremity compensation (asymmetrical knee bending and MAD > 4°). A retrospective review of a consecutively collected cohort with ASD who underwent minimum 6-level fusion with pelvic fixation was performed for validation.
RESULTS
In total, 108 patients (mean ± SD age 57.7 ± 13.7 years, 14.0 ± 3.9 levels fused) were reviewed. Mean preoperative/2-year postoperative CVA was 5.0 ± 2.0/2.2 ± 1.8 cm. For patients with type 1, both C7-CSPL and iCVA had similar error margins for immediate postoperative CVA (0.5 ± 0.6 vs 0.5 ± 0.6 cm, p = 0.900) and 2-year postoperative CVA (0.3 ± 0.4 vs 0.4 ± 0.5 cm, p = 0.185). For patients with type 2, C7-CSPL was more accurate for immediate postoperative CVA (0.8 ± 1.2 vs 1.7 ± 1.8 cm, p = 0.006) and 2-year postoperative CVA (0.7 ± 1.1 vs 2.1 ± 2.2 cm, p < 0.001). For patients with type 3, iCVA was more accurate for immediate postoperative CVA (0.3 ± 0.4 vs 1.7 ± 0.8 cm, p < 0.001) and 2-year postoperative CVA (0.3 ± 0.2 vs 1.9 ± 0.8 cm, p < 0.001). For patients with type 4, iCVA was more accurate for immediate postoperative CVA (0.6 ± 0.7 vs 3.0 ± 1.3 cm, p < 0.001) and 2-year postoperative CVA (0.5 ± 0.6 vs 3.0 ± 1.6 cm, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
This system, which accounted for lower-extremity factors, provided an intraoperative guide to determine both immediate and 2-year postoperative CVA with high accuracy. For patients with type 1 and 2 (no LLD, with or without lower-extremity compensation), C7–intraoperative CSPL accurately predicted postoperative CVA up to 2-year follow-up (mean error 0.5 cm). For patients with type 3 and 4 (LLD, with or without lower-extremity compensation), iCVA accurately predicted postoperative CVA up to 2-year follow-up (mean error 0.4 cm).
Sarthak Mohanty, Christopher Lai, Christopher Mikhail, Gabriella Greisberg, Fthimnir M. Hassan, Stephen R. Stephan, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Ronald A. Lehman Jr., and Lawrence G. Lenke
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to discern whether patients with a cranial sagittal vertical axis to the hip (CrSVA-H) > 2 cm at 2 years postoperatively exhibit significantly worse patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and clinical outcomes compared with patients with CrSVA-H < 2 cm.
METHODS
This was a retrospective, 1:1 propensity score–matched (PSM) study of patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion for adult spinal deformity. All patients had a baseline sagittal imbalance of CrSVA-H > 30 mm. Two-year patient-reported and clinical outcomes were assessed in unmatched and PSM cohorts, including Scoliosis Research Society–22r (SRS-22r) and Oswestry Disability Index scores as well as reoperation rates. The study compared two cohorts based on 2-year alignment: CrSVA-H < 20 mm (aligned cohort) vs CrSVA-H > 20 mm (malaligned cohort). For the matched cohorts, binary outcome comparisons were carried out using the McNemar test, while continuous outcomes used the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. For unmatched cohorts, categorical variables were compared using chi-square/Fisher’s tests, while continuous outcomes were compared using Welch’s t-test.
RESULTS
A total of 156 patients with mean age of 63.7 (SEM 1.09) years underwent posterior spinal fusion spanning a mean of 13.5 (0.32) levels. At baseline, the mean pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis mismatch was 19.1° (2.01°), the T1 pelvic angle was 26.6° (1.20°), and the CrSVA-H was 74.9 (4.33) mm. The mean CrSVA-H improved from 74.9 mm to 29.2 mm (p < 0.0001). At the 2-year follow-up, 129 (78%) of 164 patients achieved CrSVA-H < 2 cm (aligned cohort). Patients who had CrSVA-H > 2 cm (malaligned cohort) at the 2-year follow-up had worse preoperative CrSVA-H (p < 0.0001). After performing PSM, 27 matched pairs were generated. In the PSM cohort, the aligned and malaligned cohorts demonstrated comparable preoperative patient-reported outcomes (PROs). However, at the 2-year postoperative follow-up, the malaligned cohort reported worse outcomes in SRS-22r function (p = 0.0275), pain (p = 0.0012), and mean total score (p = 0.0109). Moreover, when patients were stratified based on their magnitude of improvement in CrSVA-H (< 50% vs > 50%), patients with > 50% improvement in CrSVA-H had superior outcomes in SRS-22r function (p = 0.0336), pain (p = 0.0446), and mean total score (p = 0.0416). Finally, patients in the malaligned cohort had a higher 2-year reoperation rate (22% vs 7%; p = 0.0412) compared with patients in the aligned cohort.
CONCLUSIONS
Among patients who present with forward sagittal imbalance (CrSVA-H > 30 mm), patients with CrSVA-H exceeding 20 mm at the 2-year postoperative follow-up have inferior PROs and higher reoperation rates.
Nathan J. Lee, Michael W. Fields, Venkat Boddapati, Meghan Cerpa, Jalen Dansby, James D. Lin, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Ronald Lehman Jr., and Lawrence Lenke
OBJECTIVE
With the continued evolution of bundled payment plans, there has been a greater focus within orthopedic surgery on quality metrics up to 90 days of care. Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not currently penalize hospitals based on their pediatric readmission rates, it is important to understand the drivers for unplanned readmission to improve the quality of care and reduce costs.
METHODS
The National Readmission Database provides a nationally representative sample of all discharges from US hospitals and allows follow-up across hospitals up to 1 calendar year. Adolescents (age 10–18 years) who underwent idiopathic scoliosis surgery from 2012 to 2015 were included. Patients were separated into those with and those without readmission within 30 days or between 31 and 90 days. Demographics, operative conditions, hospital factors, and surgical outcomes were compared using the chi-square test and t-test. Independent predictors for readmissions were identified using stepwise multivariate logistic regression.
RESULTS
A total of 30,677 patients underwent adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery from 2012 to 2015. The rates of 30- and 90-day readmissions were 2.9% and 1.4%, respectively. The mean costs associated with the index admission and 30- and 90-day readmissions were $60,680, $23,567, and $16,916, respectively. Common risk factors for readmissions included length of stay > 5 days, obesity, neurological disorders, and chronic use of antiplatelets or anticoagulants. The index admission complications associated with readmissions were unintended durotomy, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone, and superior mesenteric artery syndrome. Hospital factors, discharge disposition, and operative conditions appeared to be less important for readmission risk. The top reasons for 30-day and 90-day readmissions were wound infection (34.7%) and implant complications (17.3%), respectively. Readmissions requiring a reoperation were significantly higher for those that occurred between 31 and 90 days after the index readmission.
CONCLUSIONS
Readmission rates were low for both 30- and 90-day readmissions for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery patients. Nevertheless, readmissions are costly and appear to be associated with potentially modifiable risk factors, although some risk factors remain potentially unavoidable.
Alex S. Ha, Meghan Cerpa, Justin Mathew, Paul Park, Joseph M. Lombardi, Andrew J. Luzzi, Nathan J. Lee, Marc D. Dyrszka, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Ronald A. Lehman Jr., and Lawrence G. Lenke
OBJECTIVE
Lumbosacral fractional curves in adult spinal deformity (ASD) patients often have sharp coronal curves resulting in significant pain and imbalance. Postoperative stretch neuropraxia after fractional curve correction can lead to discomfort and unsatisfactory outcomes. The goal of this study was to use radiographic measures to increase understanding of the relationship between postoperative stretch neuropraxia and fractional curve correction.
METHODS
In 62 ASD patients treated from 2015 to 2018, radiographic review was performed, including measurement of the distance between the lower lumbar neural foramen (L4 and L5) in the concavity and convexity of the lumbosacral fractional curve and the ipsilateral femoral heads (FHs; L4–FH and L5–FH) in pre- and postoperative anteroposterior spine radiographs. The largest absolute preoperative to postoperative change in distance between the lower lumbar neural foramen and the ipsilateral FH (ΔL4/L5–FH) was used for analysis. Chi-square analyses, independent and paired t-tests, and logistic regression were performed to study the relationship between L4/L5–FH and stretch neuropraxia for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.
RESULTS
Of the 62 patients, 13 (21.0%) had postoperative stretch neuropraxia. Patients without postoperative stretch neuropraxia had an average ΔL4–FH distance of 16.2 mm compared to patients with stretch neuropraxia, who had an average ΔL4–FH distance of 31.5 mm (p < 0.01). Patients without postoperative neuropraxia had an average ΔL5–FH distance of 11.1 mm compared to those with stretch neuropraxia, who had an average ΔL5–FH distance of 23.0 mm (p < 0.01). Chi-square analysis showed that patients had a 4.78-fold risk of developing stretch neuropraxia with ΔL4–FH > 20 mm (95% CI 1.3–17.3) and a 5.17-fold risk of developing stretch neuropraxia with ΔL5–FH > 15 mm (95% CI 1.4–18.7). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds of developing stretch neuropraxia were 15:1 with a ΔL4–FH > 20 mm (95% CI 3–78) and 21:1 with a ΔL5–FH > 15 mm (95% CI 4–113).
CONCLUSIONS
The novel ΔL4/L5–FH distances are strongly associated with postoperative stretch neuropraxia in ASD patients. A ΔL4–FH > 20 mm and ΔL5–FH > 15 mm significantly increase the odds for patients to develop postoperative stretch neuropraxia.
Nathan J. Lee, Paul J. Park, Varun Puvanesarajah, William E. Clifton, Kevin Kwan, Cole R. Morrissette, Jaques L. Williams, Michael W. Fields, Eric Leung, Fthimnir M. Hassan, Peter D. Angevine, Christopher E. Mandigo, Joseph M. Lombardi, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Ronald A. Lehman Jr., and Lawrence G. Lenke
OBJECTIVE
There is a paucity of literature on pelvic fixation failure after adult spine surgery in the early postoperative period. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of acute pelvic fixation failure in a large single-center study and to describe the lessons learned.
METHODS
The authors performed a retrospective review of adult (≥ 18 years old) patients who underwent spinal fusion with pelvic fixation (iliac, S2-alar-iliac [S2AI] screws) at a single academic medical center between 2015 and 2020. All patients had a minimum of 3 instrumented levels. The minimum follow-up was 6 months after the index spine surgery. Patients with prior pelvic fixation were excluded. Acute pelvic fixation failure was defined as revision of the pelvic screws within 6 months of the primary surgery. Patient demographics and operative, radiographic, and rod/screw parameters were collected. All rods were cobalt-chrome. All iliac and S2AI screws were closed-headed screws.
RESULTS
In 358 patients, the mean age was 59.5 ± 13.6 years, and 64.0% (n = 229) were female. The mean number of instrumented levels was 11.5 ± 5.5, and 79.1% (n = 283) had ≥ 6 levels fused. Three-column osteotomies were performed in 14.2% (n = 51) of patients, and 74.6% (n = 267) had an L5–S1 interbody fusion. The mean diameter/length of pelvic screws was 8.5/86.6 mm. The mean number of pelvic screws was 2.2 ± 0.5, the mean rod diameter was 6.0 ± 0 mm, and 78.5% (n = 281) had > 2 rods crossing the lumbopelvic junction. Accessory rods extended to S1 (32.7%, n = 117) or S2/ilium (45.8%, n = 164). Acute pelvic fixation failure occurred in 1 patient (0.3%); this individual had a broken S2AI screw near the head-neck junction. This 76-year-old woman with degenerative lumbar scoliosis and chronic lumbosacral zone 1 fracture nonunion had undergone posterior instrumented fusion from T10 to pelvis with bilateral S2AI screws (8.5 × 90 mm); i.e., transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion L4–S1. The patient had persistent left buttock pain postoperatively, with radiographically confirmed breakage of the left S2AI screw 68 days after surgery. Revision included instrumentation removal at L2–pelvis and a total of 4 pelvic screws.
CONCLUSIONS
The acute pelvic fixation failure rate was exceedingly low in adult spine surgery. This rate may be the result of multiple factors including the preference for multirod (> 2), closed-headed pelvic screw constructs in which large-diameter long screws are used. Increasing the number of rods and screws at the lumbopelvic junction may be important factors to consider, especially for patients with high risk for nonunion.
Nathan J. Lee, Gerard Marciano, Varun Puvanesarajah, Paul J. Park, William E. Clifton, Kevin Kwan, Cole R. Morrissette, Jaques L. Williams, Michael Fields, Fthimnir M. Hassan, Peter D. Angevine, Christopher E. Mandigo, Joseph M. Lombardi, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Ronald A. Lehman Jr., and Lawrence G. Lenke
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, mechanism, and potential protective strategies for pelvic fixation failure (PFF) within 2 years after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery.
METHODS
Data for ASD patients (age ≥ 18 years, minimum of six instrumented levels) with pelvic fixation (S2-alar-iliac [S2AI] and/or iliac screws) with a minimum 2-year follow-up were consecutively collected (2015–2019). Patients with prior pelvic fixation were excluded. PFF was defined as any revision to pelvic screws, which may include broken rods across the lumbosacral junction requiring revision to pelvic screws, pseudarthrosis across the lumbosacral junction requiring revision to pelvic screws, a broken or loose pelvic screw, or sacral/iliac fracture. Patient information including demographic data and health history (age, sex, BMI, smoking status, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, osteoporosis), operative (total instrumented levels [TIL], three-column osteotomy [3CO], interbody fusion), screw (iliac, S2AI, length, diameter), rod (diameter, kickstand), rod pattern (number crossing lumbopelvic junction, lowest instrumented vertebra [LIV] of accessory rod[s], lateral connectors, dual-headed screws), and pre- and postradiographic (lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt, major Cobb angle, lumbosacral fractional curve, C7 coronal vertical axis [CVA], T1 pelvic angle, C7 sagittal vertical axis) parameters was collected. All rods across the lumbosacral junction were cobalt-chrome. All iliac and S2AI screws were closed-headed tulips. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine risk factors for PFF.
RESULTS
Of 253 patients (mean age 58.9 years, mean TIL 13.6, 3CO 15.8%, L5–S1 interbody 74.7%, mean pelvic screw diameter/length 8.6/87 mm), the 2-year failure rate was 4.3% (n = 11). The mechanisms of failure included broken rods across the lumbosacral junction (n = 4), pseudarthrosis across the lumbosacral junction requiring revision to pelvic screws (n = 3), broken pelvic screw (n = 1), loose pelvic screw (n = 1), sacral/iliac fracture (n = 1), and painful/prominent pelvic screw (n = 1). A higher number of rods crossing the lumbopelvic junction (mean 3.8 no failure vs 2.9 failure, p = 0.009) and accessory rod LIV to S2/ilium (no failure 54.2% vs failure 18.2%, p = 0.003) were protective for failure. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that accessory rod LIV to S2/ilium versus S1 (OR 0.2, p = 0.004) and number of rods crossing the lumbar to pelvis (OR 0.15, p = 0.002) were protective, while worse postoperative CVA (OR 1.5, p = 0.028) was an independent risk factor for failure.
CONCLUSIONS
The 2-year PFF rate was low relative to what is reported in the literature, despite patients undergoing long fusion constructs for ASD. The number of rods crossing the lumbopelvic junction and accessory rod LIV to S2/ilium relative to S1 alone likely increase construct stiffness. Residual postoperative coronal malalignment should be avoided to reduce PFF.
Mohamad Bydon, Zeeshan M. Sardar, Giorgos D. Michalopoulos, Sally El Sammak, Andrew K. Chan, Leah Y. Carreon, Elizabeth Norheim, Paul Park, John K. Ratliff, Luis Tumialán, Andrew J. Pugely, Michael P. Steinmetz, Wellington Hsu, John J. Knightly, Diane M. Ziegenhorn, Patrick C. Donnelly, Kyle J. Mullen, Stefan Rykowsky, Ayushmita De, Eric A. Potts, Domagoj Coric, Michael Y. Wang, Sheeraz Qureshi, Rajiv K. Sethi, Kai-Ming Fu, Alpesh A. Patel, S. Tim Yoon, Darrel Brodke, Ann R. Stroink, Erica F. Bisson, Regis W. Haid, Anthony L. Asher, Doug Burton, Praveen V. Mummaneni, and Steven D. Glassman
OBJECTIVE
The American Spine Registry (ASR) is a collaborative effort between the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The goal of this study was to evaluate how representative the ASR is of the national practice with spinal procedures, as recorded in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS).
METHODS
The authors queried the NIS and the ASR for cervical and lumbar arthrodesis cases performed during 2017–2019. International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision and Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to identify patients undergoing cervical and lumbar procedures. The two groups were compared for the overall proportion of cervical and lumbar procedures, age distribution, sex, surgical approach features, race, and hospital volume. Outcomes available in the ASR, such as patient-reported outcomes and reoperations, were not analyzed due to nonavailability in the NIS. The representativeness of the ASR compared to the NIS was assessed via Cohen’s d effect sizes, and absolute standardized mean differences (SMDs) of < 0.2 were considered trivial, whereas > 0.5 were considered moderately large.
RESULTS
A total of 24,800 arthrodesis procedures were identified in the ASR for the period between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019. During the same time period, 1,305,360 cases were recorded in the NIS. Cervical fusions comprised 35.9% of the ASR cohort (8911 cases) and 36.0% of the NIS cohort (469,287 cases). The two databases presented trivial differences in terms of patient age and sex for all years of interest across both cervical and lumbar arthrodeses (SMD < 0.2). Trivial differences were also noted in the distribution of open versus percutaneous procedures of the cervical and lumbar spine (SMD < 0.2). Among lumbar cases, anterior approaches were more common in the ASR than in the NIS (32.1% vs 22.3%, SMD = 0.22), but the discrepancy among cervical cases in the two databases was trivial (SMD = 0.03). Small differences were illustrated in terms of race, with SMDs < 0.5, and a more significant discrepancy was identified in the geographic distribution of participating sites (SMDs of 0.7 and 0.74 for cervical and lumbar cases, respectively). For both of these measures, SMDs in 2019 were smaller than those in 2018 and 2017.
CONCLUSIONS
The ASR and NIS databases presented a very high similarity in proportions of cervical and lumbar spine surgeries, as well as similar distributions of age and sex, and distribution of open versus endoscopic approach. Slight discrepancies in anterior versus posterior approach among lumbar cases and patient race, and more significant discrepancies in geographic representation were also identified, yet decreasing trends in differences suggested the improving representativeness of the ASR over the course of time and its progressive growth. These conclusions are important to underline the external validity of quality investigations and research conclusions to be drawn from analyses in which the ASR is used.
