The role of “smart-flap” of sternocleidomastoid muscle in cervical spine surgery: A proposal of a new surgical technique

In cervical spine surgery there are known risk of complications such as esophageal fistula and dural tear. Usually the gold standard in treatment is represented by surgery. The sternocleidomastoid flap most common used revision procedure. this paper we propose a modified surgical technique harvesting SCM suggest its use prevention selected cases.