Figure 14.1
These drawings demonstrate the positioning of a patient for posterior ( from behind ) cervical surgery . The top picture shows the patient lying on his stomach and his head fixed in a Mayfield clamp . This allows the neck to be flexed during the operation . This is important as the skin folds of the neck make it difficult to operate in the neck area .
The drawing in the middle demonstrates the area of the skin incision . This will vary in length , depending on how many spinal levels are involved in the surgery .
A B
C
The bottom picture demonstrates what it looks like when the skin incision has been performed and the specialist has dissected through the muscles to the vertebrae of the spine . �ote how the wound is being kept open with a self-retaining retractor . The spinous processes ( A ), laminae ( B ) and intervertebral joints ( C ) are exposed ( see the chapter Anatomy of the Spine ).
Images used with permission from Medtronic
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