Sung-Wook Koo

Purpose: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has become a common spine procedure, however, there have been no previous studies on whole spine alignment changes after cervical fusion. Our purpose in this study was to determine whole spine sagittal alignment and pelvic alignment changes after ACDF. Materialsand Methods: Forty-eight patients who had undergone ACDF from January 2011 to December 2012 were enrolled in this study. Cervical lordosis, thoracic kyphosis,lumbar lordosis, sagitta

Purpose: All structures of the spine, including the spinal canal, change continuously with age. The purpose of this study was to determine how the spinal canal of the lumbar spine changes with age. The L4/5 is the most common site of spinal stenosis and has the largest flexion-extension motion, whereas the T5/6 has the least motion. Therefore, we measured the spinal canal diameter and vertebral body height at T5, T6, L4, and L5 with age. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of a

The herniated lumbar disc (HLD) in adolescent patients is characterized by typical discogenic pain that originates from a soft herniated disc. It is frequently related to back trauma, and sometimes it is also combined with a degenerative process and a bony spur such as posterior Schmorl's node. Chemonucleolysis is an excellent minimally invasive treatment having these criteria: leg pain rather than back pain, severe limitation on the straight leg raising test (SLRT), and soft disc protrusion on

Objective : Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a relatively rare disease. Because of ambiguous clinical symptom, it is difficult for early diagnosis of OLF and subsequent treatment can be delayed or missed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to comprehensively assess the prevalence and distribution of thoracic OLF by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and coexisting spinal disease in Korean patients with back pain or leg pain. Methods : The sample included 2134 Korean pat

Purpose: We investigated types and prevalence of coexisting lesions found on whole spine sagittal T2-weighted images (WSST2I) acquired from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and evaluated their clinical significance in surgical degenerative spinal diseases. Materials and Methods: Coexisting spinal lesions were investigated using WSST2I from 306 consecutive patients with surgical degenerative spinal diseases. Severity of coexisting lesions was classified into four grades (0-3). Lesions of grade 2

Objective : Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory rheumatic disease mainly affecting the axial skeleton. The rigid spine may secondarily develop osteoporosis, further increasing the risk of spinal fracture. In this study, we reviewed fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis that had been clinically diagnosed to better define the mechanism of injury, associated neurological deficit, predisposing factors, and management strategies. Methods : Between January 2003 and December 2013, 12

Purpose: We investigated whether primary malignancy entities and the extent of tumor resection have an effect on the survival rate and neurological improvement in patients with spinal metastases that extend beyond the vertebral compartment (Tomita’s classification ≥ type 4). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 87 patients with advanced spinal metastasis who underwent surgery. They were divided into groups 1 and 2 according to whether they responded to adjuvant therapy or not, resp

Cervical cord compression due to osteochondroma in hereditary multiple exostosis (HME) is a rare condition, especially in young children. In this report, we discuss a rare case of cervical osteochondroma presenting as Brown-Sequard syndrome (BSS) in a 7-year-old boy with HME. The child was admitted because of hemiparesis involving the right limbs and hypoesthesia on the left side following mild trauma. MR image revealed cord compression by osteochondroma of the C7 lamina. We removed the osteocon

Purpose: This study aimed to present our experiences with a precise surgical strategy for sacrectomy. Materials and Methods: This study comprised a retrospective review of 16 patients (6 males and 10 females) who underwent sacrectomyfrom 2011 to 2019. The average age was 42.4 years old, and the mean follow-up period was 40.8 months. Clinical data,including age, sex, history, pathology, radiographs, surgical approaches, onset of recurrence, and prognosis, were analyzed. Results: The main preopera

Purpose: To determine the window of time during which osteoporosis affects the management of spinal surgery and the mechanismof bone metabolism changes in males with osteoporosis by examining changes in bone metabolism in young castrated male rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into two study groups. Group 1 (control) receiveda sham surgery and Group 2 received bilateral orchiectomy to change bone mineral density (BMD). Serum osteocalcin, alkali

Objective : Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is considered to have the best theoretical potential in promoting bony fusion of unstable vertebral segments by way of a load sharing effect of the anterior column. This study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of PLIF with cages in chronic degenerative disc disease with Modic degeneration (changes of vertebral end plate). Methods : A total of 597 patients underwent a PLIF with threaded fusion cages (TFC) from 1993 to 2000. Three-hundr

Purpose: This study aimed to present our experience with failures in C-TDR and revision surgery outcomes. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively examined patients who underwent revision surgery due to the failure of C-TDR between May 2005 to March 2019. Thirteen patients (8 males and 5 females) were included in this study. The mean age was 46.1 years (range: 22–61 years), and the average follow-up period was 19.5 months (range: 12–64 months). The outcome measures of pre- and post-operative ne

Objective：Electromyography(EMG) has been very helpful in establishing the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome(CTS). But invasive procedure of EMG makes patients discomfort, who are suffering from consistent numbness. The authors investigate the diagnostic efficacy of Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging(DITI) in CTS by comparing thermal changes between normal control group and patients group. Methods : Among 31 patients who had operated due to CTS from march 1984 to February 2002 at the Spine

Objective: In this study, we investigate about relationship between postoperative global sagittal imbalance and occurrence of mechanical complications after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery. In global sagittal balance parameters, odontoid-hip axis (OD-HA) angle and T1 pelvic angle (TPA) were analyzed. Methods: Between January 2009 and December 2016, 199 consecutive patients (26 males and 173 females) with ASD underwent corrective fusion of more than 4 levels and were followed up for more tha