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The Transoral Surgical Approach to the Craniocervical Junction

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Surgery in and around the Brain Stem and the Third Ventricle

Abstract

The transoral approach is the most direct surgical approach to anterior pathology of the lower clivus and the superior cervical spine. The approach is not new, yet its use has been limited by technical difficulty and concerns over inadequate exposure and postoperative complications. In recent years a number of surgeons have developed considerable experience with the approach and have reported their refined surgical techniques [3–5, 10, 11]. We find that with the use of[1] the McGraver retractor, [2] the operating microscope, [3] intraoperative radiography and, [4] intraoperative spinal cord and brain stem monitoring, a safe, reliable surgical procedure with minimal morbidity and mortality can be accomplished [4, 9, 10]. Our series of 20 patientswith atlantoaxial or clival pathology treated surgically via the transoral route is summarized.

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References

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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hadley, M.N., Spetzler, R.F. (1986). The Transoral Surgical Approach to the Craniocervical Junction. In: Samii, M. (eds) Surgery in and around the Brain Stem and the Third Ventricle. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71240-1_59

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71240-1_59

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-71242-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-71240-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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