title: A surgical approach to the upper thoracic spine.
abstract: We describe a surgical approach to the upper thoracic spine which allows an adequate exposure of the vertebral bodies from T1 to T3. The approach causes little functional disturbance and is especially useful in older patients with spinal tumours causing spinal cord compression.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009984:Orthopedic Fixation Devices; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*