title: Thoracic Endoscopic-Assisted Mini-Open Surgery for Thoracic and Thoracolumbar Spinal Cord Compression.
abstract: Intervertebral disc herniation is a common cause of spinal cord compression, especially for the thoracic and thoracolumbar spinal cord, which has limited buffer space in the spinal canal. Spinal cord compression usually causes decreased sensation and paralysis of limbs below the level of compression, urinary and fecal incontinence, and/or urinary retention, which brings great suffering to the patients and usually requires surgical intervention. Thoracotomy or abdominothoracic surgery is usually performed for the thoracolumbar cord compression caused by hard intervertebral disc herniation. However, there is high risk of trauma and complications with this surgery. To reduce the surgical trauma and obtain good visibility, we designed athoracic endoscopic-assisted mini-open surgery for thoracic and thoracolumbar disc herniation, and performed this procedure on 10 patients who suffered from hard thoracic or thoracolumbar spinal cord compression. During the procedure, the thoracic endoscopy provided clear vision of the surgical field with a good light source. The compression could be fully exposed and completely removed, and no nerve root injury or spinal cord damage occurred. All patients achieved obvious recovery of neurological function after this procedure. This technique possesses the merits of minimal trauma, increased safety, and good clinical results. The aim of this study is to introduce this thoracic endoscopic-assisted mini-open surgery technique, and we believe that this technique will be a good choice for the thoracic and thoracolumbar cord compression caused by hard intervertebral disc herniation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Shan
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Qiu-Ming
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Bin
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Long
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Cell Engineering Laboratory of Orthopaedic Institute, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Intervertebral disc herniation; Mini-open; Spinal cord compression; Thoracic endoscopy