The X-pointer: A forgotten anatomical relationship of spinal accessory nerve and great auricular nerve

The preservation of the spinal accessory nerve cannot be overlooked in neck dissection. Injury to the nerve results in shoulder dysfunction and other related morbidities. In this article, we describe a unique constant relationship between spinal accessory nerve and great auricular nerve, at the junction of the anterior and posterior triangles of the neck, eponymously labelled the X- pointer.

This was an observational study conducted at a tertiary care cancer centre that runs a comprehensive surgical training program. A 100 cases of modified radical neck dissection performed for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma from January 2017 to January 2019 in were included. The relationship was analyzed in 100 cases of neck dissection for its constancy.

In all the 100 cases, the X-pointer was demonstrated as a constant anatomical relationship between the spinal accessory nerve and great auricular nerve. The crossing over of the nerve on the undersurface of the sternocleidomastoid muscle is constant and independent of the patient's body proportions.

The relationship between the spinal accessory nerve and great auricular nerve remains constant irrespective of the technique of neck dissection and body habitus of the patient. In our view, this relationship can be used as an additional confirmatory landmark to prevent inadvertent injury to the spinal accessory nerve.