Neurosurgery Flashcards
Name a time you would do decompression surgery (2)
–Tumour
–IVDD
Name a time you would do fusion surgery (2)
–Fracture
–Instability
- AASlx
- Wobbler
- ?IVDD
What are these different surgery types?
- Dorsal laminectomy
- Hemilaminectomy
- Ventral slot
What are the 2 things spinal integrity depends upon?
–Intervertebral disc
–2 articular facet joints
How many facet joints can we remove without clinical consequences?
One
What is a dorsal laminectomy useful for?
Bilateral lesions
What is the width of laminectomy limited by?
Articular facet joints
Discuss dorsal laminectomy and how it may be done
- Can be performed anywhere along the spine except C1-2
- Relatively easy soft tissue approach
- Avoids ventral venous plexus
- Limited exposure lateral and ventral to the spinal cord
- Deep hole in the thoracic region
Where is a hemilaminectomy done and where is it complicated?
- The most common surgical approach in the TL region
- Complicated in cervical region by vertebral artery
Discuss what a hemilaminectomy allows, requires and the risks.
- Allows lateral approach to the spinal cord
- Allows exposure ventral to the spinal cord
- Requires lateralisation
- Risk of damage to nerve roots/spinal nerves
- Risk of damage to ventral venous plexus
What is the ventral slot?
•Surgical approach through the vertebral bodies centred on the intervertebral disc
Dicuss what a ventral slot allows, and the limitations.
- Allows access to the ventral aspect of the spinal canal
- Easy approach (if know anatomy)
- Limited access/visibility
- Only feasible in cervical region
- Significant risk of haemorhage
- Post operative morbidity
What happens if the spinal cord is:
A) Unstable?
B) Compressed?
A) Requires stabilisation/conservative
B) Needs decompressing
What are the spinal cord compartments and how are these used to assess stability?
- Lamina
- Dorsal ligaments
- Dorsal longitudinal ligament
- Dorsal annulus
- Dorsal portion of vertebral
- Ventral longitudinal ligament
- Ventral annulus
- Ventral portion of vertebral body
If more than one compartment compromised then would predict unstable
What is internal fixation?
–Orthopaedic proceedures such as plates (may not be feasible anatomically)
–Pins and methymethacrylate