• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1963-1966
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• 2005

Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis(DLSS) is a disease inducing low back pain, leg pain, convulsion, numbness, and neurogenic claudication from compression of nerve root. Intervertebra fixation was reported to increase the degenerative of neighbor region after treatment. Recently, a new surgical technique of inserting a fixator between interspinous processes has been introduced. The purpose of this study is to design of the interspinous process fixator with flexibility to complement the trouble of using fixator in DLSS. This study evaluated the existing fixator through the mechanical test and modified fixators using the finite element analysis(FEA). Displacement, stiffness and Von-Mises stress were found to have similar values to those obtained from the mechanical test and the FEA in the biomechanical loading condition. Effects of variation in length and thickness were investigated to design an optimal fixator.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiologic features of juxtafacet cyst and determine the correlation between these features and clinical outcome. Materials and Methods: We analyzed a total of 23 patients. The degree of facet joint degeneration was classified using the Fujiwara method. The facet joint angles were measured with an magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether there was a difference between the cystic lesion that was occupied and the cystic lesion that was not occupied. Disc degeneration was measured by the Pfirrmann classification method. The clinical result was evaluated using the Oswestry disability index score and visual analogue scale. Results: The L4-5 level of juxtafacet cyst was mostly affected, as found in previous studies. Facet joint arthritis was more severe within the side with the cystic lesion. Significant correlation was found between disc degeneration and juxtafacet joint cyst. All patients underwent wide decompression and fusion. Clinical result was excellent. No patients had signs of recurrence during the follow-up periods. Conclusion: Juxtafacet cyst has a significant correlation with facet joint degeneration. Therefore, aggressive surgical treatment-not just simple cyst excision-should be considered as the treatment option for juxtafacet cyst associated with degenerative lumbar disease.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.203-210
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• 2019

The aim of this review was to evaluate minimally invasive lateral lumbar interbody fusion on the latest update. Lumbar interbody fusion was introduced recently. This study performed, a literature review of the indications, clinical outcomes, fusion rate, and complications regarding recently highlighted minimally invasive lateral lumbar interbody fusion. The indications of lateral lumbar interbody fusion are similar to the conventional anterior and posterior interbody fusion in degenerative lumbar diseases. In particular, lateral lumbar interbody fusion is an effective minimally invasive surgery in spinal stenosis, degenerative spondylolisthesis, degenerative adult deformity, degenerative disc disease and adjacent segment disease. In addition, the clinical outcomes and fusion rates of lateral lumbar interbody fusion are similar compared to conventional lumbar fusion. On the other hand, non-specific complications including hip flexor weakness, nerve injury, vascular injury, visceral injury, cage subsidence and pseudohernia have been reported. Lateral lumbar interbody fusion is a very useful minimally invasive surgery because it has advantages over conventional anterior and posterior interbody fusion without many of the disadvantages. Nevertheless, nonspecific complications during lateral lumbar interbody fusion procedure remain a challenge to be improved.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.1207-1210
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• 2004

As many humans age, degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS) becomes a major cause of lower limb discomfort and disability. By surgical treatment method of DLSS, the existing surgical treatment methods using internal fixation have showed degeneration changes of an adjacent vertebrae and loss of lumbar spine lordosis-kyphosis due to eliminating a motion. For solving the problems of internal fixation, a novel interspinous spacer has been developed to treat DLSS by surgical treatment method. In this study, we evaluated the biomechanical effects of the interspinous spacer on the kinematics of the porcine lumbar spine before and after insertion of the implant. For this purpose, a device that is capable of measuring 3-D motions were built based on direct linear transformation (DLT) algorithm written with MATLAB program. Results showed that in extension, a change of the mean angle between the intact and the implanted specimens at L4-L5 was 1.87 degree difference and the implant reduced the extension range of motion of the L4-L5 (p＆lt;0.05). But the range of motion in flexion, axial rotation and lateral bending at the adjacent segments was not statistically affected by the implant. In conclusion, we thought that interspinous spacer may have remedical value for DLSS by flexing human lumbar spine.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.54-76
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• 2024

Facet joint arthrosis is a progressive degenerative disease that is frequently associated with other spinal degenerative disorders such as degenerative disc disease or spinal stenosis. Lumbar facet joint arthrosis can induce pain in the proximal lower extremities. However, symptoms and imaging findings of "facet joint syndrome" are not specific as they mimic the pain from herniated discs or nerve root compression. Currently, evidence for therapeutic intra-articular lumbar facet joint injections is still considered low, with a weak recommendation strength. Nevertheless, some studies have reported therapeutic effectiveness of facet joint injections. Moreover, the use of therapeutic facet joint injections in clinical practice has increased. This review article includes opinions based on the authors' experience with facet joint injections. This review primarily aimed to investigate the efficacy of lumbar facet joint injections and consider their associated safety aspects.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.3 s.180
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• pp.195-202
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• 2006

The degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS) is a disease inducing low back pain, leg pain, convulsion. numbness, and neurogenic claudication from compression of nerve root. Intervertebra fixation was reported to increase the degeneration of neighbor lesion after treatment. Recently, a new surgical technique of inserting a fixator between interspinous processes has been introduced. The purpose of this study is to design the interspinous process fixator with flexibility to complement the trouble of using fixator in DLSS. This study evaluated the existing fixator through the mechanical test and modified it using the finite element analysis (FEA). The evaluation was based on the displacement, stiffness and von-Mises stress obtained from the mechanical test and calculated from the FEA in the biomechanical loading condition. Effects of variation in length and thickness were investigated to design an optimal fixator. Three prototypes were manufactured using FEA results. Mechanical tests under the biomechanical loading condition were performed to select the best one from these three. The selected fixator increased flexiblity by 32.9%.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.30 no.12 s.255
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• pp.1509-1517
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• 2006

The intervertebral fusion was reported to increase the degeneration of the neighboring region. Recently, a new technique of inserting an interspinous process fixator has been introduced to minimize the degenerative change in the lumbar spine. This study analyzed biomechanical effects of the fixator in the lumbar spine, and designed a new prototype to improve flexibility of the fixator with a reduced size. The evaluation was based on the displacement, stiffness and von-Mises stress obtained from the mechanical test and finite element analysis. A finite element lumbar model of L1 to L5 was constructed. The finite element model was used to analyze intervertebral fusion, insertion of a commercial fixator and a new prototype. The range of motion of intervertebral segments and pressures at vertebral discs were calculated from FEA. The results showed that the stiffness of the prototype was reduced by 32.9% than that of the commercial one.