Transverse cervical skin incision and vertical platysma splitting approach for anterior cervical vertebral column exposure

Abstract

Anterior surgical approaches provide direct access to symptomatic areas of the cervical spine, allow management of the vast spectrum of cervical spine pathologies and there are many articles in the literature that discussed these techniques in detail. Cosmesis is an important issue for patients who undergone surgeryon neck structures as an improperly placed incision attracting significant morbidity and few publications discuss this issue in details. The purpose of the present article is to describe our experience with transverse cervical skin incision and vertical platysma splitting approach for anterior cervical vertebral column exposure.