Purpose : Anterolateral cervical lesions adjacent to nerve roots or vertebral arteries are difficult to access by the usual anterior or posterior cervical approaches. Here we describe surgical techniques for the anterolateral approach for cervical lesions and report their usefulness.

  Methods : The surgical route of the anterolateral approach is via the space posterior to the jugular vein and anterior to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, aiming at the transverse process of the cervical spine. This approach was used in 21 patients, including 6 patients with craniocervical lesions and 15 patients with subaxial cervical lesions. The most frequent pathology was dumbbell type schwannoma in 7 patients.

  Results : All the lesions adjacent to the nerve root and vertebral artery could be removed. However, in 6 patients other approaches such as retromastoid or anterior or posterior cervical were combined to accomplish further removal of lesions that extended to other areas. There were no complications directly related to the surgical methods, except for delayed cervical instability, which required cervical fusion.

  Conclusion : The anterolateral approach was useful for cervical lesions adjacent to the nerve roots or vertebral arteries.