POSITIONAL ALTERATIONS OF THE KAMBIN'S TRIANGLE AND FORAMINAL AREAS IN LUMBOSACRAL REGION

Abstract

Objective Patient position on the operating table is generally prone or lateral decubitis (LD) in endoscopic disc surgery. The effects of these positions on the critical working zones such as Kambin Triangle (KT) and neural foramina are not clear in the current literature. The purpose of this anatomical study was to compare the area of the critical working zones in the lumbosacral region in different operation positions.   Methods Bilateral KT areas (KTA) and neural foraminal areas (FA) of L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels in prone and LD positions were calculated in 32 healthy volunteers (16 male and 16 female) depending on the freehand ROI measurements on the MR images. KTA and FA values for each side and level in prone and LD positions were statistically compared with paired samples T test. Results Mean left KTA values in prone and right LD positions respectively, were 0.58 cm2 and 0.69 cm2 for L4-L5 and 0.69 cm2 and 0.78 cm2 for L5-S1 levels. Mean right KTA values in prone and left LD positions respectively, were 0.54 cm2 and 0.65 cm2 for L4-L5 and 0.69 cm2 and 0.81 cm2 for L5-S1 levels. The KTA differences between prone and LD positions for both levels and both sides were statistically significant (p=0.05). For the FA values, only the difference between prone and LD positions for L5-S1 level on the right side was statistically significant (p=0.05). Conclusion Our study quantitatively showed that the KTA is wider in LD position than in prone position in L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels.   DOI: 10.3944/AOTT.2015.14.0233 This abstract belongs to the un-edited version of the article and is only for informative purposes. Published version may differ from the current version.

Keywords

• Kambin triangle; prone; lateral decubitus; foraminal area; endoscopic disc surgery.