Cervical and thoracic spine disorders can affect more than one vertebral level of the spine. Degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, excessive kyphosis, vertebral fracture, and other disorders can cause pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling in the upper back, shoulders, and arms. In some cases, surgery is necessary.
Sometimes these disorders involve the junction between the cervical and the upper thoracic spine. Characteristically, the cervical spine is quite flexible and the thoracic spine is rigid. Disorders involving these vertebral levels can present a specific challenge to the spine specialist.
Now these difficult cases can be instrumented using a different device that is modular by design. This device allows the spine surgeon to stabilize the cervical and upper thoracic spine using screws and possibly hooks attached to a rod in a variety of positions.