Biomechanical Analysis of the Proximal Adjacent Segment after Multilevel Instrumentation of the Thoracic Spine: Do Hooks Ease the Transition?

Conclusions The use of supralaminar hooks at the top of a multilevel posterior fusion construct reduces the stress at the proximal uninstrumented motion segment. Although further data is needed to provide a definitive link to the clinical occurrence of PJK, this in vitro study demonstrates the potential benefit of “easing” the transition between the stiff instrumented spine and the flexible native spine and is the first to demonstrate these results with laminar hooks.[...]Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New YorkArticle in Thieme eJournals:Table of contents  |  Abstract  |  open access Full text

Source: Global Spine Journal - August 21, 2015 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Metzger, Melodie F.Robinson, Samuel T.Svet, Mark T.Liu, John C.Acosta, Frank L. Tags: Original Article Source Type: research