(1) Marina Spine Center, Marina del Rey, CA, USA   1. For the left retroperitoneal approach to L5-S1, place the patient in the right lateral decubitus position held by either…

(1) Cedars-Sinai Spine Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA   Anterior exposure of the cervicothoracic spine (C7 to T2) presents a significant challenge because of the limited access afforded by anatomical…

Fig. 43.1 (a) Patient in sitting position with a compatible Mayfield being put in place; (b) tubular retractor system including sequential dilators; (c) working channel (retractor); (d) table-mounted flexible retractor…

(1) Marina Spine Center, Marina del Rey, CA, USA   The 3rd rib resection is used for the transthoracic approach to the T1–T4 area. Resection of the 3rd rib allows…

(1) Marina del Rey, CA, USA    Deceased For female patients, and for males of slender build, the transaxillary transthoracic approach is an alternative to the posterior parascapular approach to…

(1) Marina Spine Center, Marina del Rey, CA, USA   The anterior lateral approach is medial to the sternocleidomastoid muscle and lateral to the carotid sheath. For approaches to C1,…

(1) Marina Spine Center, Marina del Rey, CA, USA   The 12th rib resection with flank incision was developed to allow better exposure of the kidney (Fig. 22.1) [1 –…

(1) Marina Spine Center, Marina del Rey, CA, USA   Occasionally the need arises for maximally expanded exposure of the cervical spine. For exposure of multilevel anterior cervical disease from…

(1) Marina Spine Center, Marina del Rey, CA, USA   1. The standard approach is from the left side to avoid the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Rotate the head to the…

and Srinath Samudrala2 (1) University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2) The Spine Institute at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale, CA, USA   1. Preoperative…