Posterolateral Lumbar Spine Fusion
Patient Selection Patient selection is a crucial factor for the success of lumbar spine fusions. Indications for posterolateral fusion of the lumbar spine include instability secondary to trauma, tumor, infection,…
Retropleural Approach to the Thoracolumbar Spine
The retropleural approach provides the shortest direct route to the ventral thoracic and thoracolumbar spine while avoiding entry into the pleural cavity. 1 The retropleural corridor maintains the visceral pleura…
Transpedicular Instrumentation of the Lumbar Spine
Introduction and Patient Selection Transpedicular screw fixation is commonly used as a means to treat spinal instability resulting from traumatic, neoplastic, congenital, or degenerative processes. Several techniques are used to…
Cervical Pedicle Screw Fixation
Posterior segmental fixation of the cervical spine has been widely performed for a number of years. Posterior segmental fixation reduces the need for external orthosis, which may allow for earlier…
Surgical Treatment of Isthmic Spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis is defined as a forward slippage of the vertebral body together with its pedicles, transverse processes, and upper articular processes caused by a break in the continuity or an…
Lumbar Disk Arthroplasty
Lumbar disk arthroplasty uses spinal motion preservation technology for the treatment of degenerative disk disease. Implant design considerations include re-creation of near-normal physiological spinal segment motion by reproducing rotation, translation,…
Surgical Treatment of Penetrating Wounds of the Spine
Penetrating injuries to the spinal cord rank as the third leading cause of spinal cord injuries (SCIs), after motor-vehicle accidents and falls. Penetrating injuries account for almost 15% of new…
Costotransversectomy
The spinal canal is anatomically narrowest at the thoracic level. Small lesions anterior and lateral to the spinal cord in this region tend to manifest with overt pain and neurologic…
Transthoracic Thoracic Diskectomy
Thoracic disk herniation (TDH) is a common spinal disorder, with an estimated radiographic prevalence of 11% to 37%. 1, 2, 3 Clinically symptomatic TDH is rare, however, occurring in as…
C1–2 Transarticular Screw Instrumentation
Patient Selection 6.1.1 Pathophysiology Atlantoaxial instability (AAI) or atlantoaxial subluxation (AAS) is characterized by excessive motion at the junction between the atlas (C1) and axis (C2) owing to either a bony…
