Titanium mesh implantation--a method to stabilize the spine and protect the spinal cord following a multilevel laminectomy in the adult rat.
The development of clinically relevant larger spinal cord injury models is in part limited by the possibility of a widened or multilevel laminectomy causing a spinal cord injury from an unstable spine or from compression of the spinal cord by adjacent soft tissues. In the adult rat, we have developed a method to protect the spinal cord and stabilize the spinal column using a titanium mesh implant following a bilateral, multilevel lumbar laminectomy. For this purpose, bilateral and expanded L1-4 laminectomies were performed with or without the use of a titanium mesh to protect the spinal cord and stabilize the spine. Without titanium mesh protection, the rats developed a severe paraparesis or paraplegia, urinary retention, gross anatomical signs of cord compression, and motoneuron loss. In the titanium mesh treatment group, the rats typically maintained a normal gait and lower urinary tract function, normal gross anatomical features of the spinal cord, and normal motoneuron counts. We propose that the use of a titanium mesh implant may assist in the development of clinically relevant larger spinal cord injury and repair models.
Nieto
Jaime H
JH
Department of Neurology and Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Los Angeles, 90095-1769, USA.
Hoang
Thao X
TX
Warner
Elizabeth A
EA
Franchini
Brett T
BT
Westerlund
Ulf
U
Havton
Leif A
LA
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D013131:Spine / Q000601:surgery*; D014025:Titanium; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D014025:Titanium