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Published on: August 6, 2019
Evaluation of the nutrient foramen as a suitable landmark in spinal surgery
Kiyoshi Ito1, Takuya Nakamura1, Yoshiki Hanaoka1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan.
Background Context:
The posterior cervical approach is a very popular surgical procedure. Because of the slope-shaped laminae, a suitable landmark for laminectomy, laminoplasty, and pedicle screw placement does not exist.
Purpose:
We investigated the association between the nutrient foramen and spinal canal, and the safety of bone gutter placement using nutrient foramina for safe and effective spinal surgery.
Study Design:
Observational SETTING: University Hospital PATIENT SAMPLES: Two hundred and sixty-six consecutive patients treated for cervical pathologies in our university hospital between January 2005 and December 2019.
Outcome Measures:
We identified the location of nutrient foramina and their anatomical association with the spinal canal using preoperative three-dimensional CT scanning.
Methods:
We studied the distance between each foramen and the spinal canal, and the angle of the nutrient foramen at each vertebral level.
Results:
The nutrient foramina were always located outside the spinal canal, with an average distance of +3.06±1.74 mm. The lower the spinal level, the closer the nutrient foramen to the spinal canal.
Conclusions:
The nutrient foramen can be considered a reliable landmark when using the posterior cervical approach.
