The use of self-retaining retractors in surgery for spinal cord tumors: technical note.

Self-retaining retractors may be useful in spinal tumor surgery. In this study, the tumors were retracted away from the surrounding tissue by pronged hooks attached to flexible self-retaining retractors; by this process, we could avoid placing pressure on the spinal cord. A clear dissection plane was exposed between the underside of the tumor and the surrounding spinal cord, so that the surgeon had both hands free to perform the operation. Two retractor base systems were used: 1) Sugita's multipurpose headframe for the cervical region, and 2) a newly designed U-shaped, table-fixed retractor base for the thoracic and lumbosacral regions. Most retracting instruments used in cranial surgery can be used with either system.