Summary of Key Points • A diverse set of pathologies affects the craniocervical junction, including traumatic, congenital, degenerative, vascular, and neoplastic pathologies. • Traditionally, the craniocervical junction has been treated…
Summary of Key Points • Subsidence is inevitable. It is often accelerated by prior surgery. • Bone models and remodels, as do bone grafts. This process, to some degree, is…
Summary of Key Points • A solid understanding of anatomy is the foundation for any surgical procedure. • This chapter provides an overview of the lumbar and sacral spine anatomy…
Summary of Key Points • Minimally invasive (MIS) cervical options include both anterior and posterior approaches with the decision on approach requiring a full understanding of the clinical picture and…
Summary of Key Points • Anterior subaxial cervical fixation is still relatively new. • Current fixation techniques involve the use of titanium plates and screws. • Polyetheretherketone and carbon fiber…
Summary of Key Points • Spine biomechanics is the application of basic engineering and physics principles to a biologic structure, the spinal column. The right-handed Cartesian coordinate system is routinely…
Summary of Key Points • Use of multistranded cables has made passage of sublaminar cables safer. • Passage of the leader wire with the cables is most likely to cause…
Summary of Key Points • Laminoplasty is a procedure to enlarge the cervical spinal canal. • There are two basic categories of laminoplasty commonly used today: unilateral (hinge) laminoplasty and…
Summary of Key Points • Many of the complications associated with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) can be avoided by performing properly indicated surgery, employing careful preoperative planning, and…
Summary of Key Points • The endoscopic transnasal approaches provides a direct surgical trajectory to anteriorly located lesions at the craniocervical junction. • Clinical series demonstrate low rates of postoperative…
