Gluing the Annulus! (Orthopedics this Week)
Repairing the annulus after a micro discectomy is not a new idea. But using glue (specifically fibrin glue) just might be. James Iatridis, Ph.D. and his team have been focusing their efforts on furthering the status of annulus fibrosus repair. They are particularly hoping to find solutions for those who have herniations and who undergo micro discectomy. Dr. Iatridis, director of spine research at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, tells OTW, “The goal should be not just to take away the herniated tissue, but to repair the annulus. We have just published two review articles describing the status of annulus fibrosus repair. In the first paper we describe what needs to be repaired biomechanically and strategies for repairing the injured intervertebral disc with different biomaterials. Our concept is that we must restore both annulus fibrosus integrity (detectable with torsional measurements) and nucleus pulposus pressurization (detectable with intradiscal pressure or axial biomechanics measurements).”
“In these articles we describe what an injury to the annulus fibrosus does to the biomechanics and the biological environment, as well as ways ...
