Abstract
Cervical spinal epidural abscess is less prevalent than that in the lumbar and thoracic spine, but it has a significant risk of serious neurological impairments, morbidity, and mortality. Thus, the most critical prognostic variables that contribute to the effective resolution and prevention of consequences from delayed medical or surgical treatment are early identification, diagnosis, and management of cervical spinal epidural abscesses. The main purpose of this chapter is to understand and select the most appropriate surgical approach for the effective surgical drainage of cervical epidural abscesses. The full endoscopic approaches described in this chapter for the drainage of cervical spine epidural abscesses are alternative options that yield good outcomes. Appropriate open drainage of the cervical spine remains the gold standard treatment. Pus drainage, spinal cord decompression, and granulation tissue debridement are the three main principles of cervical epidural abscess surgery. The authors also described the surgical techniques of the three approaches for cervical endoscopic drainage of epidural abscesses with a case scenario for better understanding.
Keywords
- Epidural abscess
- Cervical epidural abscess
- Transcorporeal approach
- Full endoscopic approach
- Posterior cervical drainage
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Kotheeranurak, V., Liawrungrueang, W. (2023). Full Endoscopic Drainage of Cervical Epidural Abscess. In: Lui, T.H. (eds) Endoscopy of the Spine. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7761-9_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7761-9_14
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