 A linear skin incision was made in the skin fold line from just to the right of the midline to the leading edge of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle and taken sharply to platysma, which was dissected in a subplatysmal manner and then with only blunt dissection, the prevertebral space was encountered and localizing intraoperative x-ray was obtained once cauterized the longus colli muscle bilaterally allowed for the placement along its mesial portion of self-retaining retractors for exposure of tissues. 
A linear skin incision was made in the skin fold line from just to the right of the midline to the leading edge of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle and taken sharply to platysma , which was dissected in a subplatysmal manner and then with only blunt dissection , the prevertebral space was encountered and localizing intraoperative x - ray was obtained once cauterized the longus colli muscle bilaterally allowed for the placement along its mesial portion of self - retaining retractors for exposure of tissues .