Total Of the 54 patients who underwent TES for a primary tumour between
1993 and 2010, 19 died and four were lost to follow-up. In January
2012, a questionnaire was sent to the 31 surviving patients. This
included the short form-36 to assess HRQoL and questions about the
current condition of their disease, activities of daily living (ADL)
and surgery. The response rate was high at 83.9% (26/31 patients).
We found that most patients were satisfied and maintained good performance
of their ADLs. The mental health status and social roles of the HRQoL scores
were nearly equivalent to those of healthy individuals, regardless
of the time since surgery. There was significant impairment of physical
health in the early post-operative years, but this usually returned
to normal approximately three years after surgery. Cite this article:
The widespread use of MRI has revolutionised
the diagnostic process for spinal disorders. A typical protocol
for spinal MRI includes T1 and T2 weighted sequences in both axial
and sagittal planes. While such an imaging protocol is appropriate
to detect pathological processes in the vast majority of patients,
a number of additional sequences and advanced techniques are emerging.
The purpose of the article is to discuss both established techniques
that are gaining popularity in the field of spinal imaging and to
introduce some of the more novel ‘advanced’ MRI sequences with examples
to highlight their potential uses. Cite this article: