ortho anterior spine approaches

[corona 247]

I have heard that in some hospitals, when an orthopod is going to do spine sx and is going to use an anterior approach, say to the cervical or thoracic areas, that a general surgeon is called in to get him there.

Any truth to this? I ask this because my brother in law is a radiology tech and has seen this done at his hospital.

Thanks

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[leagueelbow]

Depends on the orthopod's comfort level and the complexity of the anterior approach.

I've seen a cervical approach that was handled solely by the orthopod.

And I've seen an abdominal approach where the general surgeon (and his resident) assisted with the opening and closing.

 

[Ashers]

At my school's main hospital, gen surg usually does the anterior spinal approach for ortho and neurosurg. Then I think they do the closure afterwards as well. They were usually done on Wednesdays when I was in lecture, so I couldn't go to them.