Prone-lateral access to the lumbar spine: single-level corpectomy with approach discussion.

The lateral lumbar interbody fusion has evolved as newly envisioned access corridors become feasible with technological advances. Prone lateral access has evolved as a single-access approach to combine the benefits of minimally invasive surgery with direct and indirect decompression of the neural elements with synergistic anterior and posterior column correction. In this video, the authors discuss the pearls, pitfalls, and adjuvant technologies they use in a high-volume prone lateral center via case demonstration of a prone lateral corpectomy.

Balloon Bridge: Novel Technique for Reaccessing Carotid Artery Stent.

Background: Crossing a nascently deployed carotid artery stent (CAS) is required to perform angioplasty and filter recapture. If the traversing balloon or filter recapture catheters are eccentric or tangentially angled to the vertical axis of the CAS, they can ensnare on the ledge of the proximal CAS step-off, potentially causing life-threatening complications secondary to deformation, displacement, or mechanical occlusion of the stent. We report a novel "balloon bridge" technique that facilitates safe entry and passage across the CAS with both a balloon catheter and a large-bore guide catheter (LBGC).