Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41628439›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurosurgery. Case lessons2026

Surgical fixation of a unilateral bar and unsegmented butterfly vertebra in a patient with diastematomyelia and a tethered cord: illustrative case.

Luke Mugge, Duy Pham, Aqib Zehri, Danielle Dang, Cristie Brewer, Peggy Vollstad, Leon E Moores, Brian McHugh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Luke MuggeDepartment of Neurosciences, Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.ORCID 0000-0001-7238-5665
Duy PhamDepartment of Neurosciences, Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.
Aqib ZehriThe Oregon Clinic, Department of Neurosurgery and Spine, Portland, Oregon.
Danielle DangDepartment of Neurosciences, Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.
Cristie BrewerDepartment of Neurosciences, Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.ORCID 0009-0002-1714-2497
Peggy VollstadDepartment of Neurosciences, Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.
Leon E MooresDepartment of Neurosciences, Inova Neuroscience and Spine Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.
Brian McHughLong Island Brain and Spine, West Islip, New York.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a paucity of literature to guide the surgical management of the simultaneous presentation of a diastematomyelia, two hemicords, and a unilateral bar unsegmented vertebra, a form of formation failure. OBSERVATIONS: An 11-year-old female presented with acute-onset back pain, urinary incontinence, and lower extremity numbness. Evaluation revealed T7 diastematomyelia with a tethered cord and a right-sided T6-11 nonsegmented unilateral bar, resulting in thoracolumbar levoscoliosis (maximal Cobb angle of 49°). Initial surgical decompression and spinal cord detethering were performed, including a T7 laminectomy. A bony septation attached to the lamina and projecting through the dura mater and cord was removed and the cord was detethered. The patient subsequently regained neurological function. Eight months later, repeat scoliosis radiographic imaging showed progression to a maximal Cobb angle of 58.4°. The patient then underwent a second-stage T2-L3 posterior lateral fixation and fusion with a pedicle screw-rod construction. The postoperative curve magnitude was 25.2°. Five years following operation, she required no revision surgery and remained neurologically intact. LESSONS: The authors present a successful surgical correction of concomitant diastematomyelia and a unilateral bar and unsegmented butterfly vertebra in a pediatric patient. While the curve magnitude at presentation warranted surgical correction, neurological deficits necessitated urgent decompression before stabilization. https://thejns.org/doi/10.3171/CASE25315.

Indexed as

case reportdiastematomyeliaspinal deformityunilateral barunsegmented vertebra

Identifiers

PMID41628439
PMCPMC12863159

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.