Spine
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Intraoperative spinal ultrasonography (IOSU) was performed during anterior spinal operations in 124 patients. The IOSU proved very useful in ascertaining whether the bone-removing width was sufficient for the spinal transverse diameter. ⋯ When the insufficient width of bone removal or remaining compression factor was found, an additional technique could be performed immediately, and the IOSU was helpful for prevention of cervical reoperation and improvement of surgical results. The degree of spinal pulsations observed in IOSU was of great value in the prediction of the prognosis for spinal cord postoperatively.
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The second cervical vertebra (C2) is in a pivotal position for the alignment and stability of the cervical vertebrae as a whole. Since its spinal canal is wider at the cranial and narrower at the caudal end, a dome-like excision of the inner side of the spinal canal from the caudal toward the cranial end results in the decompression of the lesion, preserving the dorsal part of the C2. ⋯ The result was satisfactory in terms of the decompression and stability of the cervical vertebrae: even 5 years after the operation, no osteogenesis was noted in the expanded spinal canal to induce compression again. It thus may be concluded that this method is good enough to replace conventional laminectomy.