CENTRAL EUROPEAN NEUROSURGERY, cilt.71, sa.2, ss.108-109, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
As the use of instrumentation in spinal surgery has become common, the need for revision surgery has increased. During revision surgery one of the most difficult steps is removal of poly-axial pedicle screws, especially if no suitable revision set is available. We describe here an easy method for poly-axial screw removal. Leaving or placing a small piece of rod, attached firmly by a nut, tightens the head of the poly-axial screw. It can no longer move freely from the distal part of the screw and the screw can be removed by turning it counterclockwise with a big clamp or needle driver, which is available in almost every surgery set.