Dr Adriaan Liebenberg My Spine Cervical | Page 108

My Spine - Cervical
vertebral spreader
intervertebral disc
vertebral body
self-retaining retractor
Images used with permission from Medtronic
Figure 16.2
This drawing demonstrates the use of self-retaining retractors. These retrac-
tors have a ratchet mechanism that stays open, allowing the specialist to use
his hands freely during the operation. The top drawing demonstrates the ver-
tebral spreaders that pull open the disc space a bit by spreading the vertebrae
from each other. This makes it easier to remove the disc. There are surgeons
who do not use this technique, but use different ways of spreading the wound
and the disc space.
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