The anterolateral procedure is one of ideal approaches to the anterior part of the cervical spinal canal because it allows minimally invasive surgery without any fixation. However, it is not frequently used due to various technical difficulties. This patient had an intradural schwannoma ventrolateral to the spinal cord that was removed using this method.
This information has been taken from Anterolateral Approach without Fixation for Resection of an Intradural Schwannoma of the Cervical Spinal Canal, a manuscript that can be read here: http://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/… . It was submitted by corresponding author Muneyoshi Yasuda, M.D. of the Department of Neurosurgery, Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris, France.