• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제64권6호
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• pp.922-932
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• 2021

Objective : It is challenging to make solid fusion by posterior screw fixation and laminectomy with posterolateral fusion (PLF) in thoracic and thoracolumbar (TL) diseases. In this study, we report our experience and follow-up results with a new surgical technique entitled posterior thoracic cage interbody fusion (PTCIF) for thoracic and TL spine in comparison with conventional PLF. Methods : After institutional review board approval, a total of 57 patients who underwent PTCIF (n=30) and conventional PLF (n=27) for decompression and fusion in thoracic and TL spine between 2004 and 2019 were analyzed. Clinical outcomes and radiological parameters, including bone fusion, regional Cobb angle, and proximal junctional Cobb angle, were evaluated. Results : In PTCIF and conventional PLF, the mean age was 61.2 and 58.2 years (p=0.46), and the numbers of levels fused were 2.8 and 3.1 (p=0.46), respectively. Every patient showed functional improvement except one case of PTCIF. Postoperative hematoma as a perioperative complication occurred in one and three cases, respectively. The mean difference in the regional Cobb angle immediately after surgery compared with that of the last follow-up was 1.4° in PTCIF and 7.6° in conventional PLF (p=0.003), respectively. The mean durations of postoperative follow-up were 35.6 months in PTCIF and 37.3 months in conventional PLF (p=0.86). Conclusion : PTCIF is an effective fusion method in decompression and fixation surgery with good clinical outcomes for various spinal diseases in the thoracic and TL spine. It provides more stable bone fusion than conventional PLF by anterior column support.

• 한국정밀공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정밀공학회 2006년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.187-188
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• 2006

A 3-D finite element model of human thoracolumbar spine (T12-L2) was reconstructed from CT images. Various anterior and posterior instrumentation techniques were performed with long cage after corpectomy. Six loading cases were applied up to 10 Nm, espectively. The rotations of T12 with respect to L2 were measured and the stiffnesses were calculated as the applied forces divided by the segmental rotations. The posterior fixation technique increased the stiffness of the spine the most. The addition of anterior rod from 1 to 2 increased the stiffness significantly without posterior fixation, but no effect was found with posterior fixation. We found that different fixation techniques changed the stiffness of the spine.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.8-15
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• 2022

In this paper, we proposed the method of virtual reality-based surgical navigation to reproduce the pre-planned position and angle of the pedicle screw in spinal fusion surgery. The goal of the proposed method is to quantitatively save the surgical plan by applying a virtual guide coordinate system and reproduce it in the surgical process through virtual reality. In the surgical planning step, the insertion position and angle of the pedicle screw are planned and stored based on the virtual guide coordinate system. To implement the virtual reality-based surgical navigation, a vision tracking system is applied to set the patient coordinate system and paired point-based patient-to-image registration is performed. In the surgical navigation step, the surgical plan is reproduced by quantitatively visualizing the pre-planned insertion position and angle of the pedicle screw using a virtual guide coordinate system. We conducted phantom experiment to verify the error between the surgical plan and the surgical navigation, the experimental result showed that target registration error was average 1.47 ± 0.64 mm when using the proposed method. We believe that our method can be used to accurately reproduce a pre-established surgical plan in spinal fusion surgery.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제56권4호
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• pp.315-322
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• 2014

Objective : Posterior accessed lumbar interbody fusion (PALIF) has a clear objective to restore disc height and spinal alignment but surgeons may occasionally face the converse situation and lose lumbar lordosis. We analyzed retrospective data for factors contributing to a postoperative flat back. Methods : A total of 105 patients who underwent PALIF for spondylolisthesis and stenosis were enrolled. The patients were divided according to surgical type [posterior lumbar inter body fusion (PLIF) vs. unilateral transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)], number of levels (single vs. multiple), and diagnosis (spondylolisthesis vs. stenosis). We measured perioperative index level lordosis, lumbar lordosis, pelvic tilt, sacral slope, pelvic incidence, and disc height in standing lateral radiographs. The change and variance in each parameter and comparative group were analyzed with the paired and Student t-test (p<0.05), correlation coefficient, and regression analysis. Results : A significant perioperative reduction was observed in index-level lordosis following TLIF at the single level and in patients with spondylolisthesis (p=0.002, p=0.005). Pelvic tilt and sacral slope were significantly restored following PLIF multilevel surgery (p=0.009, p=0.003). Sacral slope variance was highly sensitive to perioperative variance of index level lordosis in high sacral sloped pelvis. Perioperative variance of index level lordosis was positively correlated with disc height variance ($R^2=0.286$, p=0.0005). Conclusion : Unilateral TLIF has the potential to cause postoperative flat back. PLIF is more reliable than unilateral TLIF to restore spinopelvic parameters following multilevel surgery and spondylolisthesis. A high sacral sloped pelvis is more vulnerable to PALIF in terms of a postoperative flat back.

• Asian Spine Journal
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• 제12권6호
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• pp.1017-1027
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• 2018

Study Design: This retrospective study was conducted including 18 patients who underwent posterior-only stabilization and fusion procedure for pseudoarthrosis in the ankylosed spine from October 2007 to May 2015. Purpose: This study aimed to describe the treatment outcomes in 18 patients with Andersson lesion (AL) who were managed using the posterior-only approach. Literature Review: AL is an unstable, localized, vertebral, or discovertebral lesion of the spine. It is observed in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. The exact etiology of this disorder remains unclear, and the treatment guidelines are not clearly described. Methods: We analyzed 18 patients with AL who were treated with posterior long segment spinal fusion without any anterior interbody grafting or posterior osteotomy. Pre- and postoperative radiography, computed tomography, and recent follow-up images were examined. The pre- and postoperative Visual Analog Scale score and the Oswestry Disability Index score were evaluated for all patients. Whiteclouds' outcome analysis criteria were applied at the follow-up. Moreover, at study completion, patient feedback was collected; all the patients were asked to provide their opinion regarding the surgery and were asked whether they would recommend this procedure to other patients and them self undergo the same procedure again if required. Results: The most common site was the thoracolumbar junction. The symptom duration ranged from 1 month to 10 years preoperatively. Most patients experienced fusion by the end of 1 year, and the fusion mass could be observed as early as 4 months. Pseudoarthrosis void of up to 2.5 cm was noted to be healed in subsequent imaging. In addition, clinically, the patients reported good symptomatic relief. No patient required revision surgery. Whiteclouds' outcome analysis score at the latest follow-up revealed goodto-excellent outcomes in all patients. Conclusions: ALs can be treated using the posterior-only approach with long segment fixation and posterior spinal fusion. This is a safe, simple, and quick procedure that prevents the morbidity of anterior surgery.

• 한국정밀공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정밀공학회 2006년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.559-560
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• 2006

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제59권3호
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• pp.276-281
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• 2016

Objective : Although trunk muscles in the lumbar spine preserve spinal stability and motility, little is known about the relationship between trunk muscles and spinal fusion rate. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the correlation between trunk muscles cross sectional area (MCSA) and fusion rate after posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) using stand-alone cages. Methods : A total of 89 adult patients with degenerative lumbar disease who were performed PLIF using stand-alone cages at L4-5 were included in this study. The cross-sectional area of the psoas major (PS), erector spinae (ES), and multifidus (MF) muscles were quantitatively evaluated by preoperative lumbar magnetic resonance imaging at the L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1 segments, and bone union was evaluated by dynamic lumbar X-rays. Results : Of the 89 patients, 68 had bone union and 21 did not. The MCSAs at all segments in both groups were significantly different (p<0.05) for the PS muscle, those at L3-4 and L4-5 segments between groups were significantly different (p=0.048, 0.021) for the ES and MF muscles. In the multivariate analysis, differences in the PS MCSA at the L4-5 and L5-S1 segments remained significant (p=0.048, 0.043 and odds ratio=1.098, 1.169). In comparison analysis between male and female patients, most MCSAs of male patients were larger than female's. Fusion rates of male patients (80.7%) were higher than female's (68.8%), too. Conclusion : For PLIF surgery, PS muscle function appears to be an important factor for bone union and preventing back muscle injury is essential for better fusion rate.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제29권11호
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• pp.1456-1460
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• 2000

Objectives : Transpedicular screw fixation has become an important method for internal fixation in variety of disorders. However, acceleration of degeneration at the adjacent segment in any follow. The goal of this study is to review the change of motion ranges of vertebral joints adjacent to fused level in lumbar spine. Methods : This study consists of 22 patients with degenerative spinal instability. Treatment of spinal instability includes posterior fusion with transpedicular screw fixation or transpedicular screw fixation with posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The flexion-extension angle(FEA) was measured from dynamic views of lumbar spine taken both at preoperative and post operative period. Results : The FEA of upper vertebral joint adjacent(FEA-u) to a fused L4-5 level was increased(p＝0.010). The FEA-u was increased in case of L5-S1 fusion(p＝0.025). The change of FEA-u in case of L5-S1 fusion was greater than that in L4-5 fusion(p＝0.013). Conclusion : After L4-5 fusion, there seems to be more meaningful increase in FEA of L3-4 than that of L5-S1. The reason may be due to the damage of L3-4 facet joints during the operation, the other possible explanation may be the anatomical stability of L5-S1 vertebral joint. The change of FEA-u of L5-S1 fusion is increased more than that of L4-5 fusion. Because there are compensations in the adjacent vertebrae both above and below the fused L4-5, the compensatory motion in FEA-u of L5-S1 fusion was greater than that of the L4-5 fusion.

• 한국방사선학회논문지
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• 제17권7호
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• pp.1123-1131
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• 2023

본 연구는 척추 MRI 검사 시 척추 유합술로 인한 금속 인공물을 효과적으로 억제하는 방법을 제시하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 척추 수술용 나사로 제작된 팬텀을 제작하여 금속 인공물을 재현하였다. 그리고 1.5T 그리고 3.0T MRI 장치로 영상을 획득하여 자기장 세기에 따른 금속 인공물의 변화를 평가하였다. 더불어 수신대역폭을 200, 400, 800 Hz/PX로 증가시키며 금속 인공물을 평가하였다. 그 결과 1.5T MRI 장치에서 획득한 영상에서 발생한 금속 인공물은 3.0T MRI 장치에서 획득한 영상과 비교하여 약 52.2% 감소하여 유의한 차이를 보였다(p<0.05). 특히, 신호 감쇄 및 신호 누적 영역이 각각 약 52.81%, 42.71% 감소하여 금속 인공물 억제에 큰 효과가 있었다. 반면, 수신대역폭을 200에서 800 Hz/PX까지 증가시키며 영상을 획득한 경우는 1.5T MRI 장치의 경우 최대 8.93%, 3.0T MRI 장치의 경우 최대 10.98% 감소하여 유의미한 효과가 없었다(p>0.05). 본 연구의 결과, 수신대역폭의 증가는 신호 감쇄를 줄여 일부 금속 인공물을 줄였지만 신호 누적을 억제하지 못해 큰 효과가 없었다. 하지만 3.0T에서 1.5T로 자기장의 세기를 줄인 경우, 신호 감쇄와 신호 누적이 크게 감소해 금속 인공물을 효과적으로 개선할 수 있었다. 따라서 척추 유합술로 인한 금속 인공물을 억제하기 위해서는 저 자기장 MRI 장치에서 검사하는 것이 가장 효과적인 방법이라고 할 수 있다.

• 한국신뢰성학회지:신뢰성응용연구
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.243-247
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• 2014

The Spinal cage is the cage-shaped implantable medical device used to treat structural abnormalities caused by degenerative intervertebral disks. In order to secure enough space to provide the mechanical stability and the intervertebral fusion, after removing the intervertebral disc, the Spinal cage is transplanted between the intervertebral space. A hammer is used to push the spinal cage into a narrow space during the spinal cage transplant surgery. Due to the impact and pressure, damage occurs frequently on the spinal cage. In this study, a test model is constructed to measure the value of impulse generally applied on the Spinal cage. The figures of internal impulse before and after the improvement of the Spinal cage are then compared to suggest direction to improve the reliability of the spinal cage.