The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 68, Issue 8 1206-1209, Copyright © 1986 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Intraspinal pathways taken by sublaminar wires during removal. An experimental study
JF Nicastro, CA Hartjen, J Traina and JM Lancaster
The neurological complications of segmental sublaminar stabilization that
have been reported by other authors led us to perform a cineradiographic
study of the pathways in the spinal canal that were taken by wires as they
were being removed. The single wires were removed by pulling on the wire
while keeping the wire perpendicular to the lamina; by winding the wire on
the wire-extractor, with the wire being kept as nearly parallel with the
lamina as possible (the roll-up technique); or by pulling on the wire while
keeping the wire parallel with the lamina. During removal, thirty-four
single wires conformed to the lamina and forty-one single wires compressed
the dura. The roll-up technique caused the most erratic pathways. Double
wires, although they were removed together, assumed independent pathways
unless a wire-extractor guide was used. These findings suggest that the
removal of sublaminar wires may cause dural compression in the clinical
situation.