Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 1;7(1):V2.
doi: 10.3171/2022.3.FOCVID2217. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Mini-open lateral retropleural thoracic discectomy approach

Affiliations

Mini-open lateral retropleural thoracic discectomy approach

Juan S Uribe et al. Neurosurg Focus Video. .

Abstract

The lateral retropleural approach provides an eloquent, mini-open, safe corridor to address various pathologies in the thoracolumbar spine, including herniated thoracic discs. Traditional approaches (e.g., transpedicular, costotransversectomy, or transthoracic) have their own benefits and pitfalls but are generally associated with significant morbidity and often require instrumentation. In this video, the authors highlight the retropleural approach and its nuances, including patient positioning, surgical planning, relevant anatomy, surgical technique, and postoperative care. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2022.3.FOCVID2217.

Keywords: lateral retropleural approach; mini-open approach; thoracic disc herniation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures Dr. Uribe serves as a consultant for Mainstay Medical, Viseon, Misonix, SI Bone, and NuVasive; and receives royalties from SI Bone as well as royalties, stock/stock options, and research support from NuVasive. Dr. Snyder serves as a consultant for Medtronic, Globus, and NuVasive; and has research support from Biogen.Dr. Uribe serves as a consultant for Mainstay Medical, Viseon, Misonix, SI Bone, and NuVasive; and receives royalties from SI Bone as well as royalties, stock/stock options, and research support from NuVasive. Dr. Snyder serves as a consultant for Medtronic, Globus, and NuVasive; and has research support from Biogen.

References

    1. Yen CP, Uribe JS. Mini-open lateral retropleural approach for symptomatic thoracic disk herniations. Clin Spine Surg. 2018;31(1):14–21. - PubMed
    1. Wewel JT, Uribe JS. Retropleural thoracic approach. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2020;31(1):43–48. - PubMed
    1. Xu DS, Walker CT, Farber SH, et al. Surgical anatomy of minimally invasive lateral approaches to the thoracolumbar junction. J Neurosurg Spine. 2022;36(6):937–944. - PubMed
    1. Christiansen PA, Huang S, Smith JS, Shaffrey ME, Uribe JS, Yen CP. Mini-open lateral retropleural/retroperitoneal approaches for thoracic and thoracolumbar junction anterior column pathologies. Neurosurg Focus. 2020;49(3):E13. - PubMed
    1. Uribe JS, Smith WD, Pimenta L, et al. Minimally invasive lateral approach for symptomatic thoracic disc herniation: initial multicenter clinical experience. J Neurosurg Spine. 2012;16(3):264–279. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources