The article discusses the case of a 78-year-old woman who experienced recurrence of back pain five years after undergoing lumbar spine posterior decompression and instrumented fusion. The patient was found to have hardware loosening and adjacent segment disease on imaging, and intraoperative evidence of metallosis was discovered during revision surgery. The article emphasizes that spinal metallosis can present several years after instrumentation and suggests that identifying metallosis is important, but promptly treating symptomatic implant loosening is crucial. The article also highlights the need for further research to establish blood metal concentrations associated with spinal metallosis
Summarised by Mr Mo Akmal – Lead Spinal Surgeon
The London Spine Unit : most advanced spinal hospital in the world
Published article
CONCLUSION: Spinal metallosis can present several years after instrumentation. Radiography and computed tomography may demonstrate hardware loosening secondary to metallosis. Blood metal concentrations associated with spinal metallosis have yet to be established. Hence, metallosis is still an intraoperative and histopathological diagnosis. The presence of metallosis after spinal instrumentation likely indicates a more complex underlying problem: Pseudarthrosis, failure to address sagittal…
Lumbar Decompression Surgery Expert. Best Spinal Surgeon UK
World J Orthop. 2023 Aug 18;14(8):651-661. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v14.i8.651. eCollection 2023 Aug 18.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Spinal metallosis is a rare complication following spinal instrumentation whereby an inflammatory response to the metal implants results in the development of granulomatous tissue.CASE SUMMARY: We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman who had recurrence of back pain 5 years after lumbar,
World J Orthop. 2023 Aug 18;14(8):651-661. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v14.i8.651. eCollection 2023 Aug 18.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Spinal metallosis is a rare complication following spinal instrumentation whereby an inflammatory response to the metal implants results in the development of granulomatous tissue.
CASE SUMMARY: We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman who had recurrence of back pain 5 years after lumbar spine posterior decompression and instrumented fusion. Lumbar spine radiographs showed hardware loosening and magnetic resonance imaging showed adjacent segment disease. Revision surgery revealed evidence of metallosis intraoperatively.
CONCLUSION: Spinal metallosis can present several years after instrumentation. Radiography and computed tomography may demonstrate hardware loosening secondary to metallosis. Blood metal concentrations associated with spinal metallosis have yet to be established. Hence, metallosis is still an intraoperative and histopathological diagnosis. The presence of metallosis after spinal instrumentation likely indicates a more complex underlying problem: Pseudarthrosis, failure to address sagittal balance, infection, and cross-threading of set screws. Hence, identifying metallosis is important, but initiating treatment promptly for symptomatic implant loosening is of greater paramount.
PMID:37662668 | PMC:PMC10473909 | DOI:10.5312/wjo.v14.i8.651
The London Spine Unit : most advanced spinal hospital in the world
Read the original publication:
Metallosis with spinal implant loosening after spinal instrumentation: A case report