title: Endoscopic Transnasal Odontoidectomy.
abstract: Transoral microscopic odontoidectomy followed by posterior fixation has been accepted as a standard procedure to treat nonreducible basilar invagination during the half past century. In recent years, the development of endoscopic techniques has raised challenges regarding the traditional treatment algorithm. The endoscopic transnasal odontoidectomy is a feasible and effective method in the treatment of irreducible ventral cervicomedullary junction compression, which has several advantages over the transoral approach. The endoscopic odontoidectomy includes transnasal, transoral, and transcervical approaches. The 3 different approaches for endoscopic odontoidectomy present complementary advantages and limitations. The necessity of posterior fixation after odontoidectomy should be considered in every single case on the basis of the peculiar anatomic and clinical conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xiaobiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chongjing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D001269:Atlanto-Occipital Joint / Q000601:surgery; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000601:surgery; D057605:Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery / Q000379:methods*; D009809:Odontoid Process / Q000601:surgery*