[Clinical experience with recently produced devices for use in spinal surgery].

The authors reported their clinical experience with devices, which have been recently introduced for spinal surgery. The main roles of such devices are to correct malalignment of the spine and stabilize the spinal instability. Although Harrington's device has been widely used since 1962, its use is gradually decreasing due to its having several weak points, such as its low resistance to distorting forces and its imperfect ability to correct malalignment of the spine. In the present manuscript, the authors describe clinical experience with three kinds of spinal devices. They are Steffee's transpedicular screw for 5 cases of lumbar spondylolisthesis, Roosen-Trauschel compression clamp for 2 cases of atlanto-axial dislocation and Kaneda's device for one case of metastatic T-11 tumor. Good fixation was obtained in 4 cases using Steffee's devices. The injury of the nerve root is one of the most serious disadvantages in this device. Although Roosen-Trauschel compression clamp needs improvement in some aspect, it was able to bring about good stabilization without using sublaminar wiring, which may be a dangerous procedure in the cervical region. Kaneda's device seemed to be useful for the thoracolumbar lesion. Although it needs a relatively radical approach, such as thoracotomy, Kaneda's device brought about good stabilization and corrected the kyphosis. The devices, which are described in the present manuscript, will probably play important roles in spinal surgery in the future.