Scholars@Duke
Kristen Jones

Kristen Jones

Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
Office hours

Selected Publications

Musculoskeletal biomarkers in health and disease: implications for the aging spine-a review for spinal surgeons by the SRS adult spinal deformity task force on senescence.

Journal Article Spine Deform · November 2025 The incidence of spine-related pathologies is expected to increase in developed countries due to ongoing fundamental demographic shifts toward an older population. These changes present significant challenges to public health, as healthcare systems worldwi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Assessing the impact of high-risk committees in adult cervical deformity corrective surgery: a retrospective review of outcomes, complications, and frequency of procedures receiving preoperative multidisciplinary evaluation.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Spine · November 1, 2025 OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the frequency, outcomes, and impact of high-risk procedures receiving preoperative multidisciplinary review in adult cervical deformity (ACD) patients. METHODS: ACD patients were stratified by whether they underwent h ... Full text Link to item Cite

General and Spine-Specific Sarcopenia in Adult Spinal Deformity: a Narrative Overview of Current Strengths and Limitations.

Journal Article Global Spine J · October 29, 2025 Study DesignNarrative Review.ObjectivesRecent studies have separated assessment of sarcopenia into two main categories within spine surgery: (1) general sarcopenia assessing systemic muscle degeneration and (2) spine-specific sarcopenia assessing muscle de ... Full text Link to item Cite

Current Concepts on Imaging and Artificial Intelligence of Osteosarcopenia in the Aging Spine: A Review for Spinal Surgeons by the SRS Adult Spinal Deformity Task Force on Senescence.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · September 15, 2025 STUDY DESIGN: Narrative review. OBJECTIVE: To explore the intersection of osteoporosis, sarcopenia, radiomics, and machine learning in spine surgery, with a focus on clinical applications and opportunities for advancing assessment and predictive modeling m ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Bedrock technique with triangular titanium rods for spinopelvic fixation and sacroiliac joint fusion: is there a learning curve?

Journal Article Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol · July 23, 2025 PURPOSE: The Bedrock technique involves fusion of the sacroiliac (SI) joint at the time of long construct spinal fusion extending to the pelvis. This is done with triangular titanium rods (TTR) placed parallel and cephalad to S2AI screws, requiring placeme ... Full text Link to item Cite

AO Spine Clinical Practice Recommendations: Evaluation, Implications and Management of Osteoporosis in Adult Spinal Deformity.

Journal Article Global Spine J · July 14, 2025 Study designLiterature review with clinical recommendation.ObjectivesTo provide the readers with a concise curation of the relevant spine literature regarding the identification and management of osteoporosis in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pelvic Fixation in Adult Spinal Deformity: Complications, Controversies, and Future Directions.

Journal Article Global Spine J · July 2025 Study DesignNarrative Review.ObjectivePelvic fixation is a crucial technique in modern adult spinal deformity surgery, yet complications and failure rates remain high. Significant controversy exists regarding the type and number of points of pelvic fixatio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Differences across various ideal lumbar lordosis measurement formulas for patient-specific sagittal alignment goals.

Journal Article Neurosurg Focus · June 1, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Multiple studies in the past have developed equations to determine the ideal lumbar lordosis (ILL) in the sagittal plane. These equations differ but all look to accomplish the same goal of providing the surgeon with specific alignment targets du ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Role of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Spinal Trauma: A Review of Techniques, Outcomes, and Limitations.

Journal Article Neurosurgery · March 1, 2025 Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has significantly revolutionized spine surgery by reducing morbidity, minimizing tissue damage, and improving postoperative outcomes compared with traditional open surgeries. Although MIS is well-documented for degenerative ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sacropelvic Fixation with Porous Fusion/Fixation Screws: A Technical Note and Retrospective Review.

Journal Article World Neurosurg · October 2024 OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to analyze our initial experience using a novel porous fusion/fixation screw (PFFS) for pelvic fixation and determine our rate of screw malposition requiring intraoperative repositioning. METHODS: We reviewed 83 consec ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rapid response during spinal deformity surgery can successfully save spinal cord function using intraoperative monitoring.

Conference Spine Journal · September 1, 2024 This abstract contains content that is significantly similar to the authors' previously published abstract in the Global Spine Journal Rapid Fire. For access to the original publication, please visit the following DOI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti ... Full text Open Access Cite

Intraoperative neuromonitoring has a poor correlation with postoperative neurological deficits in noncord level adult deformity surgery

Conference Spine Journal · September 1, 2024 BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) is routinely used during spinal deformity surgery. While it is highly effective at detecting spinal cord level changes, the utility for surgery at a noncord level is less known. The purpose of this ... Full text Open Access Cite

Automated magnetic resonance imaging-based grading of the lumbar intervertebral disc and facet joints.

Journal Article JOR Spine · September 2024 BACKGROUND: Degeneration of both intervertebral discs (IVDs) and facet joints in the lumbar spine has been associated with low back pain, but whether and how IVD/joint degeneration contributes to pain remains an open question. Joint degeneration can be ide ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pelvic incidence changes with adult deformity correction: is intraoperative measurement needed?

Conference Spine Journal · September 1, 2024 BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Pelvic incidence (PI) is a measurement used to evaluate patient specific spinal alignment. PI was thought to be fixed. Recent studies suggest that PI does change after lumbopelvic fixation in adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery, likely ... Full text Cite

Removal of infected bone in-growth pelvic fixation implants and microcomputed tomography analysis of osseous integration: illustrative case.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Case Lessons · August 19, 2024 BACKGROUND: A novel pelvic fixation screw fusion device (iFuse Bedrock Granite implant) was designed to promote bony fusion through self-harvesting fenestrations throughout the outer screw shank. Bone on-growth and in-growth using this design have been dem ... Full text Link to item Cite

Does A Hinged Operating Table Facilitate Sagittal Correction in Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion With Smith-Peterson Osteotomy? A Radiographic Analysis.

Journal Article Clin Orthop Relat Res · June 1, 2024 BACKGROUND: Osteotomies allow the restoration of appropriate sagittal alignment; however, closure of osteotomies can be challenging. Typical closure involves compressing pedicle screw heads across the rods, potentially causing screw loosening and failure. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Spine surgeon versus AI algorithm full-length radiographic measurements: a validation study of complex adult spinal deformity patients.

Journal Article Spine Deform · May 2024 INTRODUCTION: Spinal measurements play an integral role in surgical planning for a variety of spine procedures. Full-length imaging eliminates distortions that can occur with stitched images. However, these images take radiologists significantly longer to ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Novel Surgical Indication for Scheuermann's Kyphosis.

Journal Article J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev · March 1, 2024 Scheuermann kyphosis can be treated surgically to restore proper sagittal alignment. Thoracic curves >70° are typically indicated for surgical intervention. However, patients who have reached their natural limit of compensatory lumbar hyperlordosis are at ... Full text Link to item Cite

Post-operative bracing following adult spine deformity surgery: Results from the AO Spine surveillance of post-operative management of patients with adult spine deformity.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2024 STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional international survey with a literature review. OBJECTIVES: While some surgeons favor spine bracing after surgery for adult spine deformity (ASD) to help prevent mechanical failures, there is a lack of evidence. The objective o ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Academic career progression in AANS/CNS Spine Section award recipients

Journal Article Journal of Neurosurgery Spine · January 1, 2024 OBJECTIVE The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Joint Spine Section awards highlight outstanding abstracts submitted to the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves by train ... Full text Cite

Management of High-Grade Dysplastic Spondylolisthesis.

Journal Article Neurosurg Clin N Am · October 2023 The Meyerding classification grades the degree of slippage in the sagittal plane on lateral standing neutral imaging: 0% to 25% Grade I, 25% to 50% Grade II, 50% to 75% Grade III, 75% to 100% Grade IV, and greater than 100% Grade V (Spondyloptosis). Grades ... Full text Link to item Cite

Chance Fracture Pattern Presenting in Proximal Junctional Failure.

Journal Article J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev · August 1, 2023 INTRODUCTION: We present a case series of proximal junctional failure due to a Chance-type fracture. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of patients who developed proximal junctional kyphosis because of Chance-type proximal junctional failure after spi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Odontoid Fracture as Proximal Junctional Failure in Patients With Multilevel Spine Fusions.

Journal Article Global Spine J · April 2023 STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVE: Proximal junctional failure (PJF) commonly occurs as a recognized potential outcome of fusion surgery. Here we describe a unique series of patients with multilevel spine fusion including the cervical spine, who ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sacroiliac joint fusion navigation: how accurate is pin placement?

Journal Article Neurosurg Focus · January 2023 OBJECTIVE: Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) fusion utilizing intraoperative navigation requires a standard reference frame, which is often placed using a percutaneous pin. Proper placement ensures the correct positioning of SIJ fusion implants. There is currently no ... Full text Link to item Cite

Catastrophic acute failure of pelvic fixation in adult spinal deformity requiring revision surgery: a multicenter review of incidence, failure mechanisms, and risk factors.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Spine · January 1, 2023 OBJECTIVE: There are few prior reports of acute pelvic instrumentation failure in spinal deformity surgery. The objective of this study was to determine if a previously identified mechanism and rate of pelvic fixation failure were present across multiple i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rescue Pelvic Fixation in a Patient with Sacral-2-Alar-Iliac and Triangular Sacroiliac Joint Fusion (Bedrock) Instrumentation.

Journal Article World Neurosurg · January 2023 The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the creation of a 4-rod lumbosacral construct, when "stacked" sacral-2-alar-iliac (S2AI) screws are not possible due to a concurrent treatment of sacroiliitis with a posterior approach sacroiliac joint fusion de ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Use and Misuse of Antibiotics in Neurosurgery

Chapter · January 1, 2023 Neurosurgical patients often receive antibiotic therapy in the setting of procedural prophylaxis, empirical treatment of a presumed infection, or treatment of a confirmed infection. In all three situations, it is important to carefully consider both the be ... Full text Cite

Bone Graft Options, Graft Substitutes, and Harvest Techniques

Chapter · January 1, 2023 Successful spine fusion demands careful consideration of bone graft options and meticulous techniques for harvest and arthrodesis. To select the appropriate graft material, spine surgeons must have a working understanding of the factors affecting bone graf ... Full text Cite

Novel 2D long film imaging utility to avoid wrong level spinal surgery

Journal Article Radiology Case Reports · July 1, 2022 Wrong-level spinal surgery (WLSS) can lead to increased morbidity, cost, and worse long-term outcomes. Current intraoperative localization methods rely on counting spinal levels from a known reference location using fluoroscopy. Miscounting from a referenc ... Full text Cite

Multiple Points of Pelvic Fixation: Stacked S2-Alar-Iliac Screws (S2AI) or Concurrent S2AI and Open Sacroiliac Joint Fusion with Triangular Titanium Rod.

Journal Article JBJS Essent Surg Tech · 2022 UNLABELLED: Sacropelvic fixation is a continually evolving technique in the treatment of adult spinal deformity. The 2 most widely utilized techniques are iliac screw fixation and S2-alar-iliac (S2AI) screw fixation1-3. The use of these techniques at the b ... Full text Link to item Cite

Bilateral open sacroiliac joint fusion during adult spinal deformity surgery using triangular titanium implants: technique description and presentation of 21 cases.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Spine · January 1, 2022 OBJECTIVE: Pelvic fixation enhances long constructs during deformity surgery. Subsequent loosening of iliac screws and pain at the pelvis occur in as many as 29% of patients. Concomitant sacroiliac (SI) fusion may prevent potential pain and failure. The ob ... Full text Link to item Cite

Acute failure of S2-alar-iliac screw pelvic fixation in adult spinal deformity: novel failure mechanism, case series, and review of the literature.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Spine · January 1, 2022 OBJECTIVE: Pelvic fixation with S2-alar-iliac (S2AI) screws is an established technique in adult deformity surgery. The authors' objective was to report the incidence and risk factors for an underreported acute failure mechanism of S2AI screws. METHODS: Th ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lymphatic Injury After Vertebral Column Resection from a Posterior Approach for Spinal Deformity Correction: A Case Report.

Journal Article JBJS Case Connect · October 14, 2021 CASE: We describe a case of lymphatic injury that occurred during a 2-level vertebral column resection for spinal deformity correction from a posterior-only approach. Large surgical drain volume output with laboratory findings of high levels of triglycerid ... Full text Link to item Cite

2-Dimensional Long Film O-Arm Imaging, an Alternative When Intraoperative Fluoroscopy Is Inadequate.

Journal Article World Neurosurg · June 2021 Obtaining intraoperative images of the spine in the obese patient and at the cervicothoracic junction have historically been technically difficult due to variable penetration and x-ray scatter. This is particularly true for spinal deformity cases, where cl ... Full text Link to item Cite

The effect of simulation training on resident proficiency in thoracolumbar pedicle screw placement using computer-assisted navigation.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Spine · September 4, 2020 OBJECTIVE: Residency work-hour restrictions necessitate efficient, reproducible training. Simulation training for spinal instrumentation placement shows significant benefit to learners' subjective and objective proficiency. Cadaveric laboratories are most ... Full text Link to item Cite

Controlled Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy Site Closure Using Flexible Hinge-Powered Operating Table.

Journal Article Oper Neurosurg · November 1, 2019 BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) is a 3-column osteotomy used to correct rigid, large magnitude sagittal spinal deformity. PSO is an inherently destabilizing procedure intraoperatively, with high risk of neurological deficits ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cost-Effectiveness for Surgical Treatment of Degenerative Spondylolisthesis.

Journal Article Neurosurg Clin N Am · July 2019 Surgery for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis is significantly more cost-effective than nonsurgical management in patients who have failed to improve with a 6-week trial of nonsurgical management. Decompression plus fusion becomes more cost-effective c ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Deformity TLIF: Bilateral Facetectomy and Osteotomy Closure with a Hinged Table.

Journal Article Iowa Orthop J · 2019 BACKGROUND: Increasing emphasis has been placed on segmental lordosis correction, even in short segment constructs. However, the majority of reports on TLIF indicate that lordosis correction is modest at best. TLIF with bilateral facetecomy has been descri ... Link to item Cite

Pediatric and Adult Scoliosis

Chapter · January 26, 2018 Full text Cite

Thoracic spinal cord impingement by an arachnoid web at the level of a hemivertebra: case report.

Journal Article J Neurosurg Spine · December 2017 Congenital scoliosis due to a hemivertebra requires surgical stabilization prior to skeletal maturity if rapidly progressive curve growth occurs. Here the authors present the unique case of a man who, at the age of 12 years, had undergone Harrington rod pl ... Full text Link to item Cite

Tranexamic Acid Reduced the Percent of Total Blood Volume Lost During Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery.

Journal Article Int J Spine Surg · 2017 BACKGROUND: Multilevel posterior spine fusion is associated with significant intraoperative blood loss. Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic agent that reduces intraoperative blood loss. The goal of this study was to compare the percent of total blood vo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Placement of Thoracic Pedicle Screws.

Journal Article JBJS Essent Surg Tech · March 23, 2016 Thoracic pedicle screws have become the spinal anchor of choice because of the superior biomechanics of this technique. It is widely used for the treatment of scoliosis, spinal deformity (such as kyphosis), trauma, tumors, infection, and other pathologies. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Determining the elements of procedural quality.

Journal Article J Neurosurg · August 2013 OBJECT: The definition and determination of quality health care is an important topic. The purpose of this study was to develop a longitudinal method to define a quality procedure by creating a formal approach to pre- and postoperative outcomes documentati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Hydrogels derived from central nervous system extracellular matrix.

Journal Article Biomaterials · January 2013 Biologic scaffolds composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) are commonly used repair devices in preclinical and clinical settings; however the use of these scaffolds for peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) repair has been limited. Biologic scaffolds ... Full text Link to item Cite

Biologic scaffolds composed of central nervous system extracellular matrix.

Journal Article Biomaterials · May 2012 Acellular biologic scaffolds are commonly used to facilitate the constructive remodeling of three of the four traditional tissue types: connective, epithelial, and muscle tissues. However, the application of extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds to neural t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for seizure prophylaxis in severe traumatic brain injury.

Journal Article Neurosurg Focus · October 2008 OBJECT: Current standard of care for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is prophylactic treatment with phenytoin for 7 days to decrease the risk of early posttraumatic seizures. Phenytoin alters drug metabolism, induces fever, and requires t ... Full text Link to item Cite