title: Surgical treatment of thoracic disc herniation: a reappraisal of Larson's lateral extracavitary approach.
abstract: Twenty patients with thoracic disc herniations underwent removal of the transverse process, articular facet, pedicle, and rib--a procedure described by Larson as the lateral extracavitary approach. Eleven patients presented with myelopathy: five mild, nine moderate, and four severe. Fifteen patients showed significant neurologic improvement after the operation and five patients none. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 1 to 8 years. The pros and cons of each of the surgical approaches to this type of lesion are considered with reference to the published data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delfini
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Di Lorenzo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ciappetta
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bristot
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cantore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000601:surgery; D013903:Thoracic Surgery; D013909:Thorax / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed