• Salvatore Chibbaro, Giuseppe Mirone, Damian Bresson, and Bernard George.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Lariboisiere University Hospital, 75475 Paris, France.
• Surg Neurol. 2009 Oct 1; 72 (4): 318-24; discussion 324.

BackgroundThe authors describe the rationale of cervical spine lateral approach technique to manage spondylotic myeloradiculopathy with its advantages, disadvantages, complications, and pitfalls.MethodsThe cervical lateral approach could be indicated to treat spondylotic myeloradiculopathy where anterior compression is predominant and the spine is straight or kyphotic without instability.ResultsUsing the present approach the lateral aspect of the cervical spine is easily reached and the vertebral artery is well controlled. The lateral part of the pathological intervertebral discs, uncovertebral joints, vertebral bodies and posterior longitudinal ligament are removed as necessary and decompression tailored to each patient to completely free the nerve roots and/or spinal cord.ConclusionThe cervical lateral multilevel corpectomy/foraminotomy technique allows wide anterior decompression of the spinal cord and complete unilateral nerve root decompression preserving spinal stability and physiological spinal motion.

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