Duraplasty promotes functional recovery by alleviating intraspinal pressure and edema following severe spinal cord compression injury in rabbits: Experimental studies

• Published in: The spine journal 2024-12
• Main Authors: Yang, Chaohua, He, Tao, Ma, Jingjin, Wang, Qing, Wang, Song, Wang, Gaoju, Yang, Jin, Chen, Zhiyu, Li, Qiaochu, Zhan, Fangbiao, Jian, Changchun, Feng, Daxiong, Quan, Zhengxue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arterial spin labeling; Blood-spinal cord barrier; Diffusion tensor imaging; Duraplasty; Edema; Intraspinal pressure; Traumatic spinal cord injury
• ISSN: 1529-9430; 1878-1632; 1878-1632
• DOI: 10.1016/j.spinee.2024.12.007

After acute traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI), various surgical strategies have been developed to alleviate elevated intraspinal pressure (ISP) and secondary injury. Our study aimed to investigate the impacts of duraplasty and laminectomy on edema progression, perfusion and functional outcomes after severe balloon compression SCI. In vivo animal study. Closed balloon compression injuries were induced at the T7 level in rabbits using an inflated volume of 50 μl. Laminectomy (1-level laminectomy: 1-laminectomy; 3-level laminectomy: 3-laminectomy) and duraplasty were performed immediately after model generation. ISP was monitored using a SOPHYSA probe at the epicenter within 7 days post-SCI. Edema progression, perfusion and damage severity were evaluated by serial multisequence MRI scans, behavioral and bladder scores within 8 weeks post-SCI. Blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) permeability and histopathology were subsequently analyzed. After SCI, ISP was steeply elevated in the control and 1-laminectomy groups, peaking at 33.14±4.91 and 31.71±4.50 mmHg at 48 h post-SCI; whereas in the 3-laminectomy and duraplasty groups, ISP peaked at 29.43±4.04 and 12.14±1.86 mmHg (p