In these circumstances knowledge of the dimensions of the foramen magnum has clinical and radiological relevance, as it helps surgeons in the
transcondylar surgical procedure to relieve compression (Murshed et al., 2003).
(10) Two different techniques are described: the use of cortical screws and the use of
transcondylar pins at the point of ligament attachment, with nonabsorbable suture placed in a figure-of-8 pattern between the fixators.
Bhanumathy, "A morphometric analysis of the foramen magnum region as it relates to the
transcondylar approach," Acta Neurochirurgica, vol.
Despite variations of the
transcondylar approach or intradural approach combined with an extradural approach have been used, complete tumor resection was achieved only in 9 (28.1%) out of 32 cases in our own studies and in others studies.[10],[21],[22],[23] Usually, the extracranial component remained.
(28) performed 100 consecutive knee arthroscopies with
transcondylar notch views and found that posterolateral visualization was achieved in 100% of the procedures (and in 93% during the first attempt) with a 4% rate of mild iatrogenic cartilage damage.
Rhoton, "Microsurgical anatomy for lateral approaches to the foramen magnum with special reference to
transcondylar fossa (supracondylar transjugular tubercle) approach," Skull Base Surgery, vol.
Hirakawa, "Microvascular decompression for glossopharyngeal neuralgia through the
transcondylar fossa (supracondylar transjugular tubercle) approach," Operative Neurosurgery, vol.
Several authors described fishtail deformities and deformities of the trochlea after supracondylar and
transcondylar fractures of the distal humerus [15-17].
(3) Far lateral
transcondylar approaches require extensive dissection of the paravertebral muscles and vessels, in particular, the vertebral artery and removal of bony structures such as the Occipital Condyle (OC) and Jugular Tubercle (JT).