Anterior cervical surgery is commonly used for cervical vertebral body lesions. However, the structure of blood vessels and nerve tissues along the route of anterior cervical surgery is complex. We aimed to measure the data of the longus colli, the sympathetic trunk and the cervical sympathetic trunk （CST） ganglia in Chinese cadaver speci- mens. A total of 32 adult cadavers were studied. We delineated the surgical anatomy of the CST. The superior and inferior/cervicothoracic ganglia of the sympathetic trunk consistently appeared. The middle ganglion was observed in 28.1% of the specimens and there were 2 cases of unilateral double middle cervical ganglia. The inferior ganglion was observed in 25.0% of the specimens and the cervicothoracic ganglion was observed in the remaining speci- mens. The distance between the CST gradually decreased from the top to the bottom, and the distance between the medial edges of the longus colli gradually broadened from the top down. The average angle between the bilat- eral CST and the midline of the vertebra was 11.2°± 1.8° on the left side and 10.3°± 1.4° on the right side. The average angle between the medial margins of longus colli of both sides was 11.1°± 1.9°. The CST is at high risk when LC muscle is cut transversely or is dragged heavily, especially at the levels of C6 and C7. Awareness of the regional anatomy of the CST could help surgeons to identify and preserve it during anterior cervical surgeries.
This study aimed to introduce a novel mini-open pedicle screw fixation technique via Wiltse approach, and com- pared it with the traditional posterior open method. A total of 72 cases of single-segment thoracolumbar fractures without neurologic injury underwent pedicle screw fixation via two different approaches. Among them, 37 patients were treated using posterior open surgery, and 35 patients received mini-open operation via Wiltse approach. Crew placement accuracy rate, operative time, blood loss, postoperative drainage, postoperative hospitalization time, radiation exposure time, postoperative improvement in R value, Cobb＇s angle and visual analog scale （VAS） scores of the two methods were compared. There were no significant differences in the accuracy rate of pedicle screw placement, radiation exposure and postoperative R value and Cobb＇s angle improvement between the two groups. However, the mini-open method had obvious advantages over the conventional open method in operative time, blood loss, postoperative drainage, postoperative hospitalization time, and postoperative improvement in VAS. The mini-open pedicle screw technique could be applied in treatment of single-segment thoracolumbar fracture without neurologic injury and had advantages of less tissue trauma, short operative and rehabilitative time on the premise of guaranteed accuracy rate and no increased radiation exposure.
Haijun LiLei YangHao XieLipeng YuHaifeng WeiXiaojian Cao
