Transoral Spine Surgery – an Update

Abstract

Even though in recent years the number of transoral spinal interventions has decreased in Europe and North America - mainly because of the progress in the drug therapy of rheumatism, there are still pathologies that can only be addressed by a transoral approach. The classical transoral approach can be expanded in collaboration with oral-maxillofacial surgery and ear, nose and throat surgery, but this is rarely necessary. The transoral approach is now mainly used for resection of pathological tissue. Additional stabilisation is often necessary and is performed in Europe and North America via a posterior approach, due to the lack of availability of anterior plate systems. Anterior plate systems are still used in India and China. In these countries, the numbers of transoral operations are generally still increasing. Today the indications for transoral spinal surgery consist mainly of infections and tumours, and more rarely of trauma and congenital malformations of the craniocervical junction. The numbers of surgical interventions for these indications has remained constant in recent years. The most recent advancement is the use of endoscopes and transnasal access. With these techniques, additional alternatives and supplements are available for further reducing the morbidity of transoral surgery. Despite the low number of cases, surgical therapy of the corresponding pathologies can be offered to patients with a calculable risk.

Individualized perioperative management in transoral spine surgery: a single-center cohort study evaluating surgical wound complications and wound infections

“…Transoral (TO) spine surgery is specific due to both its surgical approach and the spectrum of diseases it targets [ 1 , 2 ]. Patients with high age and elevated clinical frailty scores are often involved and there are reports of increased risk of surgical site infection (SSI) mainly due to perioperative considerations, technical aspects pertaining the TO approach, prolonged surgery and more complex techniques involving maxilotomy or mandibulotomy [ 3 ].…”