What's new in spine surgery

Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injury and Dysphonia Following Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Anterior cervical spine surgery (ACSS) is an effective treatment for various cervical spine conditions but carries a risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury and dysphonia. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the incidence of these complications and their associated risk factors. An analysis of 17 studies involving 5,706 patients revealed a pooled RLN injury incidence of 3.41% and a dysphonia incidence of 2.5%. Prolonged surgeries exceeding two hours and multilevel procedures were associated with higher risks, while implant material demonstrated minimal impact. These findings highlight the importance of surgical planning to mitigate RLN injury risk and improve patient outcomes in ACSS.

Innovation and New Technologies in Spine Surgery, Circa 2020: A Fifty-Year Review

Spine surgery (lumbar, cervical, deformity, and entire spine) has increased in volume and improved in outcomes over the past 50 years because of innovations in surgical techniques and introduction of new technologies to improve patient care. Innovation is described as a process to add value or create change in an enterprise's economic or social potential. This mini review will assess two of three assessments of innovation in spine surgery: scientific publications and patents issued. The review of both scientific publications and issued patents is a unique assessment. The third assessment of innovation: regulatory clearances of medical devices and equipment for spine surgery and their evolution over time, will also be discussed.

Modern spinal instrumentation. Part 2: multimodality imaging approach for assessment of complications

Radiologists frequently encounter studies demonstrating spinal instrumentation, either as part of the patient's postoperative evaluation, or as incidental to a study performed for another purpose. It is important for the reporting radiologist to identify potential complications of commonly used spinal implants. Part 1 of this review examined both the surgical approaches used and the normal appearances of these spinal implants and bone grafting techniques. This second part of the review will focus on the multimodal imaging strategy adopted in the assessment of the instrumented spine and the demonstration of imaging findings of common postoperative complications.