title: Titanium mesh implantation--a method to stabilize the spine and protect the spinal cord following a multilevel laminectomy in the adult rat.
abstract: 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.
authors: Department of Neurology and Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Los Angeles, 90095-1769, USA.
authors: Jaime H
authors: JH
authors: Nieto
authors: Thao X
authors: TX
authors: Hoang
authors: Elizabeth A
authors: EA
authors: Warner
authors: Brett T
authors: BT
authors: Franchini
authors: Ulf
authors: U
authors: Westerlund
authors: Leif A
authors: LA
authors: Havton
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D014025:Titanium