Minimally Invasive Anterolateral Cervical Cordotomy for Intractable Cancer Pain Using Microtubular Retractors: A Single Institution Case Series.

Background And Objectives: As advancements in cancer treatments have allowed patients with a high burden of disease to live longer, the number of patients who present with debilitating refractory pain has increased. Anterolateral cordotomy has long been used for the treatment of intractable unilateral cancer pain using either an imaging-guided percutaneous approach or an open surgical approach. In this report, we describe a novel minimally invasive modification to the open surgical approach.

The Evolution of Minimally Invasive Spine Tumor Resection and Stabilization: From K-Wires to Navigated One-Step Screws.

Minimization of the surgical approaches to spinal extradural metastases resection and stabilization was advocated by the 2012 Oncological Guidelines for Spinal Metastases Management. Minimally invasive approaches to spine oncology surgery (MISS) are continually advancing. This paper will describe the evolution of minimally invasive surgical techniques for the resection of metastatic spinal lesions and stabilization in a single institute.

Post-operative dysphagia following ventral cervical approach: complication or side-effect? Retrospective analysis and review of the literature.

Objective: To ameliorate the clinical decision-making process when debating between a ventral or dorsal cervical approach by elucidating whether post-operative dysphagia be regarded as a complication or a transient side effect.

Methods: A literature review of studies comparing complication rates following ventral and dorsal cervical approaches was performed. A stratified complication rate excluding dysphagia was calculated and discussed.

Short-term post-operative complications in 207 patients with multi-level degenerative cervical myelopathy: the effect of surgical approach.

Introduction: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a common condition often treated by surgical decompression and fusion. The objective of this paper was to compare short-term post-operative complication rates of patients with multi-level DCM treated with decompression and fusion using either an anterior or a posterior cervical approach.

Material And Methods: A retrospective evaluation of patients' charts, imaging studies and operative reports of patients operated for multilevel subaxial DCM from 2011 to 2016 at a single institution was performed.