Transthoracic Discectomy
A video concerns a 48-yr-old woman who presented with worsening mid-back pain and progressive gait difficulty. Her examination was significant for proximal lower extremity muscle weakness, difficulty with tandem gait, and urinary incontinence. Imaging demonstrated a large T7-8 disc herniation causing severe spinal cord compression. The patient underwent T7-8 transthoracic discectomy and interbody fusion. She tolerated the procedure well without complication, and postoperative imaging demonstrated decompression of her spinal cord. On follow-up, she had improved mid-back pain, strength, and ambulatory function.The patient consented to the recording of this surgical video for potential publication 1).
https://academic.oup.com/ons/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ons/opy407/5292651