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Anatomic, qualitative, and quantitative evaluation of the variants of the infratentorial supracerebellar approach to the posteroinferior thalamus

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Abstract

The posteroinferior region of the thalamus is formed by the pulvinar, and it is surgically accessed through the infratentorial supracerebellar approach, between the midline and the retromastoid region. This study aimed to compare the paramedian, lateral, extreme lateral, and contralateral paramedian corridors with the posteroinferior thalamus through a suboccipital craniotomy and an infratentorial supracerebellar access. Ten cadavers were studied, and the microsurgical dissections were accompanied by the measurement of the variables using a neuronavigation system. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The distance between the access midpoint at the cranial surface and pulvinar varied between 53.3 and 53.9 mm, the contralateral access being an exception (59.9 mm). The vertical angle ranged from 20.6° in the contralateral access to 23.5° in the lateral access. There was a gradual increase in the horizontal angle between the paramedian (17.4°), lateral (31.3°), and extreme lateral (43.7°) accesses. But, this angle in the contralateral access was 14.6°, similar to that of the paramedian access. The exposed area of the thalamus was 125.1 mm2 in the paramedian access, 141.8 mm2 in the lateral access, and 165.9 mm2 in the extreme lateral access, which was similar to that of the contralateral access (164.9 mm2). The horizontal view angle increased with lateralization of the access, which facilitated microscopic visualization. With regard to the exposure of the microsurgical anatomy, the extreme lateral and contralateral accesses circumvent the neural and vascular obstacles at the midline, allowing a larger area of anatomical exposure.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Mr. Angelo Schuman and Mr. Rodrigo Tonan for the illustrations.

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This research was supported by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurosurgery, University of São Paulo Medical School, Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar Ave., R. 5083, Number 255, São Paulo, 05403-000, Brazil

    Helbert de Oliveira Manduca Palmiero, Davi Jorge Fontoura Solla, Leonardo Borges dos Santos, Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira & Eberval Gadelha Figueiredo

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  1. Helbert de Oliveira Manduca Palmiero
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  2. Davi Jorge Fontoura Solla
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  3. Leonardo Borges dos Santos
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  4. Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira
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  5. Eberval Gadelha Figueiredo
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Correspondence to Helbert de Oliveira Manduca Palmiero.

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de Oliveira Manduca Palmiero, H., Solla, D.J.F., dos Santos, L.B. et al. Anatomic, qualitative, and quantitative evaluation of the variants of the infratentorial supracerebellar approach to the posteroinferior thalamus. Neurosurg Rev 44, 2309–2318 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-020-01405-0

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