Browsing by Subject "Lumbar"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Lumbar extraforaminal decompression: A technical note and retrospective study looking at potential complications as an outpatient procedure
    (Elsevier, 2011) Miller, Justin W.; Sasso, Rick C.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, IU School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND: Lumbar disc herniation and stenosis that results in compression of a nerve root lateral to the foramen is defined as extraforaminal. In recent years the recognition of such pathology has increased with technology and greater awareness. Various approaches and techniques have been developed for extraforaminal decompression in the lumbar region. The purpose of this study was two fold: 1) Determine the safety of treating patients operatively via a paramedian muscle splitting approach on an outpatient basis, and 2) Highlight the technical aspects of the approach to the extraforaminal region. METHODS: One hundred consecutive extraforaminal decompressions were performed from 1992 to 2007 by a single surgeon. A retrospective review was performed consisting of chart reviews. Summary statistics and the Pierson Chi-square test were used to analyze the data. The primary outcome measure was the need for hospital admission or readmission following surgical decompression. RESULTS: Seven of 100 patients (7%) were required to remain in the hospital for twenty-three hour observation due to Medicare requirements. Five (5%) of the patients originally scheduled for an outpatient procedure were converted to inpatient status due to postoperative pain. All were released within 2 days (average 1.25 days). Only one (1%) patient was readmitted for urinary retention that resolved without incident. There was no significant difference (P = 0.137) in complication rate between our control and those that underwent extraforaminal decompression. CONCLUSIONS: Extraforaminal lumbar decompression as an outpatient procedure can be done safely without the need for hospital admission.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Spinal Injury Associated With Firearm Use
    (Cureus, 2021-03-16) Loder, Randall T.; Mishra, Abhipri; Atoa, Bradley; Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
    Objective Injuries associated with firearms are a significant health burden. However, there is no comprehensive study of firearm spinal injuries over a large population. It was the purpose of this study to analyze the demographics of spinal firearm injuries across the entire United States for all ages using a national database. Methods A retrospective review of prospectively collected data using the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Firearm Injury Surveillance Study 1993-2015 (ICPSR 37276) was performed. The demographic variables of patients with spinal injuries due to firearms were analyzed with statistical analyses accounting for the weighted, stratified nature of the data, using SUDAAN 11.0.01™ software (RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 2013). A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results For the years 1993 through 2015, there were an estimated 2,667,896 emergency department (ED) visits for injuries due to firearms; 10,296 of these injuries (0.4%) involved the spine. The vast majority (98.2%) were due to powder firearm gunshot wounds. Those with a spine injury were more likely to have been injured in an assault (83.7% vs. 60.2%), involved a handgun (83.5% vs. 60.2%), were male (90.8% vs. 86.4%), were admitted to the hospital (86.8% vs. 30.9%), and were seen in urban hospitals (86.7 vs. 64.6%). The average age was 28 years with very few on those < 14 years of age. Illicit drug involvement was over four times as frequent in those with a spine injury (34.7% vs. 8.0%). The cervical spine was involved in 30%, thoracic in 32%, lumbar in 32%, and sacrum in 6%. A fracture occurred in 91.8% and neurologic injury in 33%. Injuries to the thoracic spine had the highest percentage of neurologic involvement (50.4%). There was an annual percentage decrease for patients with and without spine involvement in the 1990s, followed by increases through 2015. The average percentage increase for patients with a spine injury was 10.3% per year from 1997 onwards (p < 10-6), significantly greater than the 1.5% for those without spinal involvement (p = 0.0001) from 1999 onwards. Conclusions This nation-wide study of spinal injuries associated with firearms covering all ages can be used as baseline data for future firearm studies. A reduction in the incidence of such injuries can be guided by our findings but may be difficult due to sociopolitical barriers (e.g. socioeconomic status of the injured patients, differences in political opinion regarding gun control in the US, and geospatial patterns of firearm injury).