The Infra-hyoid Median Approach: A Novel Surgical Corridor to the Anterior Subaxial Cervical Spine. Step-by-Step Anatomic Description and Quantitative Comparison With the Smith–Robinson Approach

Key Points

• The aim is to introduce and validate a novel surgical corridor for anterior cervical spine access and compare it to the traditional method.
• Description of the Infra-hyoid Median Approach (IHMA) anatomy and technique.
• Quantitative comparison of IHMA with the Smith–Robinson Approach (SRA).
• Evaluation of exposure and tissue retraction in both approaches.
• IHMA provides similar or superior exposure compared to SRA.
• Requires significantly less tissue retraction during surgery.
• Suggests potential reduction in postoperative complications.