[Mini-open approaches in anterior lumbar spine surgery]

Abstract

Introduction: The anterior spine approach known as «mini-open» was introduced a few years ago for the surgical treatment of spine diseases. This approach allows the anterior, body and intervertebral disc structures to be exposed, as well as the anterior compression of the dural sac and the reconstruction and/or stabilisation of the levels of interest with an appropriate system. In the present article we present our experience in mini-open anterior spine surgery (MOASS) approach in the treatment of lumbar spine diseases.

Material and methods: We performed 74 anterior spine approaches using open surgery between the period January 2004 and July 2011. In 38 cases we used the MOASS technique at different levels: thoracic, lumbar, and infraumbilical extraperitoneal.

Results: There were no surgical or post-operative deaths, or further neurological deficits arising from the surgical procedure in any of the techniques (classic versus MOASS). The few complications were corrected with the appropriate treatment.

Conclusions: Using the MOASS technique we have performed corrective surgery on spine injuries that could affect the thoracic spinal column, with similar results to those obtained using the classic approach and with obvious advantages.