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Posterior dynamic stabilization of the lumbar spine with the Accuflex rod system as a stand-alone device: experience in 20 patients with 2-year follow-up

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Abstract

Decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis is a common procedure. After surgery, segmental instability sometimes occurs, therefore, different methods for restabilization have been developed. Dynamic stabilization systems have been designed to improve segmental stability. In this study, clinical results of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis that underwent decompression and stabilization with the Accuflex dynamic system are presented; clinical, radiographic, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings are fully described. Improvements in all clinical measurements, including visual analog scale for back and leg pain, Oswestry disability index, and SF-36 health status survey were noticed. At a 2-year follow-up, 22.22% of patients required hardware removal due to fatigue while in 83% of them no progression of disk degeneration was observed after implantation of the Accuflex system. Additionally, as demonstrated by the MRI images at follow up, three patients (16%) showed disk rehydration with one grade higher on the Pfirmann classification. Although a relatively high hardware failure was observed (22.22%), the use of the dynamic stabilization system Accuflex posterior to decompression procedures, showed clinical benefits and stopped the degenerative process in 83% the patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Special Surgery, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Mexico Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Alejandro Reyes-Sánchez

  2. Department of Spinal Surgery, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Calzada México Xochimilco No. 289, Colonia Arenal de Guadalupe, Delegación Tlalpan, C.P. 14389, Mexico Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Barón Zárate-Kalfópulos, Luis Miguel Rosales-Olivarez, Armando Alpizar-Aguirre & Guadalupe Sánchez-Bringas

  3. Magnetic Resonance Department, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Mexico Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Isabel Ramírez-Mora

Authors
  1. Alejandro Reyes-Sánchez
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  2. Barón Zárate-Kalfópulos
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  3. Isabel Ramírez-Mora
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  4. Luis Miguel Rosales-Olivarez
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  5. Armando Alpizar-Aguirre
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  6. Guadalupe Sánchez-Bringas
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Correspondence to Barón Zárate-Kalfópulos.

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Reyes-Sánchez, A., Zárate-Kalfópulos, B., Ramírez-Mora, I. et al. Posterior dynamic stabilization of the lumbar spine with the Accuflex rod system as a stand-alone device: experience in 20 patients with 2-year follow-up. Eur Spine J 19, 2164–2170 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-010-1417-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-010-1417-7

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