Minimally invasive posterior osteotomies.

Area of Science:

• Spine surgery
• Orthopedic surgery
• Minimally invasive techniques

Background:

• Traditional thoracolumbar deformity surgery involves significant muscle injury, blood loss, and pain.
• Developing less invasive surgical options is crucial for improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of minimally invasive posterior thoracic corpectomy and thoracolumbar osteotomy for spinal deformities.
• To assess the efficacy of these techniques in cadavers and select clinical cases.

Main Methods:

• Cadaveric specimens underwent minimally invasive thoracic corpectomy, Smith-Petersen osteotomy, and pedicle subtraction osteotomy.
• Computed tomography assessed spinal canal decompression and bone resection.
• Cobb angles were measured to evaluate deformity correction.

Main Results:

• The minimally invasive lateral extracavitary approach provided excellent spinal canal decompression with minimal tissue disruption.
• Thoracic corpectomy achieved adequate exposure for decompression.
• Nearly complete osteotomies were performed using a tubular retractor, yielding modest Cobb angle correction.

Conclusions:

• Minimally invasive posterior thoracic corpectomy and thoracolumbar osteotomy techniques are feasible for select spinal deformity cases.
• Further technological advancements may enhance the role of these techniques in deformity surgery.