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Occipital-Cervical Approach and Stabilization

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Spinal Tumor Surgery

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Abstract

The spinal column is the most common site for skeletal metastases but involves the cervical spine in only 8–20% of cases. Metastatic disease is more common than primary spinal tumors, and surgery for metastatic spine disease is generally palliative. Due to its junctional location, metastatic disease from the occiput to C2 is more likely to cause instability, compared to the mobile subaxial spine. As such, patients most commonly present with refractory neck pain from mechanical instability. In the setting of cervical spine or craniovertebral junction tumors, the treatment goals for patients undergoing occipital-cervical stabilization are to decompress neural elements, realign the cervical spine, and stabilize the spinal column.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA

    A. Karim Ahmed, Ian Suk, Ali Bydon & Nicholas Theodore

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  1. A. Karim Ahmed
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  2. Ian Suk
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  3. Ali Bydon
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  4. Nicholas Theodore
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicholas Theodore .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Daniel M. Sciubba

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Karim Ahmed, A., Suk, I., Bydon, A., Theodore, N. (2019). Occipital-Cervical Approach and Stabilization. In: Sciubba, D. (eds) Spinal Tumor Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98422-3_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98422-3_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98421-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-98422-3

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