title: Anterior approach to the cervical spine.
abstract: The anterior approach to surgical treatment of disorders of the cervical spine is described, and the technique and advantages are outlined. A series of 66 patients who underwent 75 procedures is reported. The follow-up period ranged from one to five years. Good to excellent results were obtained with 91% of the operations for disc disease, and good results in all cases of fracture-dislocation. Adequate relief of pain was obtained with anterolateral cordotomy in two patients with malignant disease. Only minor complications were encountered; these were easily corrected or cleared up spontaneously. This approach is recommended in preference to the posterior approach for disc disease and fracture-dislocations of the cervical spine.
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000601:surgery; D006406:Hematoma; D006801:Humans; D007085:Ilium / Q000637:transplantation; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000601:surgery; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000601:surgery; D007796:Laminectomy; D008722:Methods; D009192:Myelography; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013128:Spinal Osteophytosis / Q000601:surgery; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous