Research Article - Biomedical Research (2017) Volume 28, Issue 11

Epidural fibrosis post laminectomy is the unappreciated cause of spinal cord compression post chronic spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury is the result of extreme trauma to the spinal cord. The trauma often results in a series of lasting and significant symptoms which reduce patients’ quality of life. In the present research, thirty healthy adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: (1) mild injury group (laminectomy and spinal cord impacting, force value=100 kdyn), (2) severe injury group (laminectomy and spinal cord impacting, force value=200 kdyn), (3) control group (laminectomy only). In order to prove the creation of spinal cord injury and epidural fibrosis within the animal model, BBB score tests were performed weekly and MRI scans were done at 4 weeks post-operation. Macroscopic evaluation and histology were used to evaluate the correlation between spinal cord injury and epidural fibrosis formation. Spinal cord injury can instigate epidural fibrosis. The higher grades of spinal cord injury were associated with more widespread epidural adhesion and greater spinal cord compression. Epidural fibrosis is an unappreciated cause of spinal cord compression post laminectomy in spinal cord injury rats. Epidural scarring has been noted to easily form in spinal cord injury model rats. The present study suggests the necessity of preventing epidural fibrosis post-surgery in patients with spinal cord injury.

Author(s): Xiuxin Han, Xiao Tian, Baklaushev VP, Abakumov MA, Patricia Douglas, Haixiao Wu, Ratyev AP, Egiazaryan KA, Lili Li, Derun Tian, Guowen Wang, Xiubao Ren, Chekhonin VP, Chao Zhang

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