Abstracts Posters SICOT-SOF meeting Gothenburg 2010 _2_

Poster
Topic: Spine
Abstract number: 22888
A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINING TRANSVERSE SKIN INCISION SITE
FOR ANTERIOR CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY
Cian KENNEDY, Mike LEONARD, John MCCABE
1 University College Hospital Galway, Galway (IRELAND)
Background - The transverse skin incision for anterior cervical spine surgery is not
extensile thus it must be made at the accurate level. The use of palpable bony
landmarks is unreliable due to anatomical variations, and pre-operative fluoroscopy
to identify the level takes up operating room time, increases the radiation dose to the
patient and increases the overall cost of the operation. Objective - To describe a
simple, fast and inexpensive method of accurate transverse skin incision placement
for anterior cervical spine surgery, and to report on its use in 54 consecutive adult
patients.Patients and Methods - In each case a ratio was recorded on the lateral
cervical spine radiograph based on the distance between the clavicle and mandible
and the operative level, this was then applied to measurements on the patient’s
neck.Results - Procedures performed consisted of a mix of discectomy and fusion,
disc replacement and combinations of both. The operative level ranged from C2-C3
to C7-T1, the most common being C5-C6. Twenty-three patients had a single-level,
26 a two level and 5 a three level procedure, all cases were performed through one
single transverse incision.Conclusion - In conclusion we describe the highly
successful use of a straightforward method for accurate level transverse skin incision
placement for cervical spine surgery In no case was it necessary to radically extend
or to make a separate incision. There were no cases where the wrong level was
operated on.
390