Tubular Lateral Approach to the Thoracic and Thoracolumbar Junction

Abstract

Introduction The minimally disruptive, lateral, retroperitoneal, transpsoas approach for anterior lumbar interbody fusion was developed as an alternative to conventional anterior and posterior approaches, avoiding much of the morbidity associated with the latter. As the approach has gained prevalence in lumbar interbody fusion applications, its use has expanded into the thoracolumbar and thoracic spine for treatment of more advanced pathology. In the treatment of thoracic disc herniations and in thoracolumbar corpectomy (tumor and trauma), the approach has both been established in the literature and continues to be more widely used as an alternative to open thoracotomy and thoracoscopic approaches. In the mini-open lateral approach, understanding of the relevant anatomy, pathologic considerations, and procedural differences to the lumbar technique in these areas is essential to translation of the reproducibility and clinical benefits reported in lumbar applications.