fig1 depicts a protective pad 100 . the protective pad 100 has a generally rectangular shape with four fastener areas 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 located at each of the four corners of a base 110 of the protective pad 100 . in this embodiment , the fastener areas 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 include bone fastener holes 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 . the bone fastener holes 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 may be used with a bone fastener such as a screw , peg or nail to attach the protective pad 100 to a bone . alternatively , the protective pad 100 may be sutured in place . as shown in fig2 , an overlying portion 120 extends above a portion of the base 110 . the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 define a fluid pocket 122 . in the embodiment of fig2 , the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 are configured to provide an impermeable barrier about the fluid pocket 122 . accordingly , fluid within the fluid pocket 122 is not allowed to exit the fluid pocket 122 . additionally , fluids outside of the protective pad 100 are not allowed to enter the fluid pocket 122 . the protective pad 100 further includes a telltale 124 which in this embodiment extends from the base 110 . the telltale 124 includes a marker 126 . the overlying portion 120 , the base 110 and the telltale 124 are formed from a flexible biocompatible material or subdermal implant material , such as silastic brand silicone rubber or similar organosiloxane polymers . the fluid pocket 1 is filled with a biocompatible fluid which may be liquid or gaseous . in one embodiment , carbon dioxide gas is used . other biologically inert gasses may be used in alternative embodiments . the fluid pocket 122 may be configured to provide a thin layer of fluid between the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 or to provide a more substantial separation between the overlying portion 120 and the base 110 as shown in fig2 . the marker 126 in the embodiment of fig1 includes a radiodense material so as to be readily identified using radiography . the present invention is particularly well suited for use in surgeries on the spinal column of a patient . referring to fig3 , a spinal column 128 of a human being is illustrated . in the drawing figures , certain anatomical details may be omitted or shown somewhat schematically in the interest of clarity . the spinal column 128 includes a cervical region 130 , a dorsal region 132 , a lumbar region 134 and a pelvic region 136 . two of the regions of the spinal column 128 that are most commonly operated on are the lumbar region 134 and the pelvic region 136 . in these regions , the area including lumbar l4 138 and lumbar l5 140 and the area including lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 are the areas to which most spinal operations are directed . one surgical approach that is used when performing a surgical procedure on the above described areas is identified as the pararectal retroperitoneal approach . in this approach , which may be used for procedures such as a disc removal or disc prosthesis installation , the skin of the patient is incised in a curved line over the lateral border of the rectus muscle of the patient . through this incision , the prevertebral space of the patient is exposed . fig4 depicts various anatomical parts that are located within or adjacent to a prevertebral space 144 . as depicted therein , the vena cava 146 extends generally along a line directly above the spinal column ( not shown in fig4 ). the vena cava 146 receives blood from the common iliac veins 148 and 150 and their respective branches . the abdominal aorta 152 begins to the right of the vena cava 146 as viewed in fig4 and extends over the top of the vena cava 146 lower down in the prevertebral space 144 . the abdominal aorta 152 provides blood to two common iliac arteries 154 and 156 and their respective branches . the vena cava 146 , the common iliac veins 148 and 150 and their respective branches , the abdominal aorta 152 , and the common iliac arteries 154 and 156 and their respective branches are anterior to , and generally co - linear with , the spinal column 128 as shown in fig5 . accordingly , when using the pararectal retroperitoneal approach , at least some of these blood vessels must be moved to the side to expose the targeted area of the spinal column 128 . during an index surgical procedure , movement of the blood vessels is accomplished by retracting the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 to one side to expose the lumbar l4 138 and lumbar l5 140 vertebrae or by spreading the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 apart from the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 to expose the area about the lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 141 . depending on the actual location of the veins and arteries of a particular patient and the area being targeted , branches of the iliac vessels may need to be moved , in addition to or in place of the iliac vessels . the blood vessels and surrounding tissue exhibit sufficient flexibility and looseness for the amount of retraction required to access areas using the pararectal retroperitoneal approach during an initial surgery on a target area . after the initial surgery , however , scar tissue and / or adhesions may form about the surgical path and restrict the flexibility and looseness of the anatomical parts around the path to and in the area of the target area . to facilitate a revision surgery in the same area as the index surgery , a protective pad may be used to reduce complications resulting from scar tissue and / or adhesions . preferably , the protective pad is attached to the spinal column 128 during the initial surgical operation . more preferably , the protective pad is attached after a procedure has been conducted on a target area and before the blood vessels or other anatomical parts are released from a retracted position . fig6 depicts a portion of the prevertebral space 144 after the blood vessels have been released from retraction . the protective pad 158 is attached to the lumbar l4 138 vertebra with two fasteners 160 and 162 which are inserted through the fastener areas 164 and 166 , respectively . preferably , holes are provided in the fastener areas 164 and 166 which allow the shafts ( not shown ) of the bone fasteners 160 and 162 , which in this embodiment are screws , to pass through the protective pad 158 . similarly , the protective pad 158 is attached to the lumbar l5 140 vertebra with two fasteners 168 and 170 which are inserted through the fastener areas 172 and 174 , respectively . in this configuration , the base 176 of the protective pad 158 is located adjacent to the spinal column 128 and an overlying , portion 178 and a fluid pocket 180 are located beneath the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 of the patient as shown in fig7 . in a preferred embodiment , the protective pad 158 is selected from a kit of protective pads having different sizes . this allows a pad to be selected with a length that extends , in this example , from about the mid - point of the lumbar l4 138 vertebra to about the mid - point of the lumbar l5 140 vertebra . additionally , the width of the protective pad 158 is selected to ensure the fluid pocket 180 extends outwardly from the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 on at least one side as is discussed more fully below . in this embodiment , fig7 shows that the fluid pocket 180 extends outwardly from both the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 in a medial - lateral direction . the overall width of the protective pad 158 is preferably selected to provide complete coverage of the targeted vertebrae from psoas to psoas . the telltale 182 extends away from the protective pad 158 and includes a marker 184 which may be similar to the marker 125 of fig1 . to aid in rapidly locating the telltale 182 during a revision surgery , the end portion with the marker 184 may conveniently be tacked to the rectus of the patient or affixed to another readily identifiable location by some other means . accordingly , during a revision surgery on or near the targeted area of the first procedure , radiography is used to identify the location of the marker 184 on the telltale 182 . then , after preparing the incision area in accordance with a proper surgical protocol , an incision in the skin of the patient is made and the telltale 182 is located based upon the radiography . in this embodiment , the telltale 182 is shown attached to the base 176 . alternatively , the telltale 182 may be attached to the overlying portion 178 . in the event the telltale 182 does not interfere with the remaining steps of the surgical procedure , the telltale 182 may remain attached to the patient . alternatively , if the telltale 182 is attached to the overlying portion 178 or will interfere with ensuing steps , the telltale 182 is detached from the patient . in either event , the surgeon then follows the telltale 182 to the protective pad 158 . after lysis of adhesions on the portion of the pad 158 on the side opposite the direction of desired retraction , a longitudinal incision 186 is made through the overlying portion 178 along a line adjacent to the vena cava 146 or the abdominal aorta 152 as shown in fig8 . the width of the fluid pocket 180 preferably extends outwardly of both the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 . this allows a surgeon to select the direction in which the blood vessels will be retracted based upon the particular condition of the patient . if the fluid pocket only extends outwardly of one of the two blood vessels , then the incision is preferably made to allow retraction of the blood vessels in a direction opposite the direction in which the fluid pocket extends outwardly of the one of the two blood vessels . the overlying portion 178 may then be manipulated to retract the adjacent blood vessel away from the longitudinal incision 186 allowing a transverse incision 188 to be made in the overlying portion 178 at one end of the protective pad 158 and another transverse incision 190 along the opposite end of the protective pad 158 . the longitudinal incision 186 and the transverse incisions 1 . 88 and 190 form a leaf 192 . once the leaf 192 is sufficiently formed , a retractor is placed through the longitudinal incision 186 and into the fluid pocket 180 . the retractor is used to move the leaf 192 in a direction away from the longitudinal incision 186 . if needed , any of the incisions may be further extended during retraction . as shown in fig9 , the leaf 192 , acting as a protective layer , is used to retract the vena cava 146 and the abdominal aorta 152 to reveal an exposed portion 194 of the base 176 . an incision may then be made through the exposed portion 194 to reveal the targeted area . as stated above , when using the pararectal retroperitoneal approach in the area about the lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 , the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 are spread apart from the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 . accordingly , it is desirable to form two different leaves from the protective pad , one leaf for each set of blood vessels . the protective pad 158 may be used in this setting with appropriate modification of the location of the longitudinal cut to a central area and using transverse cuts to form two leaves . an alternative protective pad that may be used is the protective pad 200 shown in fig1 . the protective pad 200 has a generally rectangular base 202 with four fastener holes 204 , 206 208 and 210 located at each of the four corners . an overlying , portion 212 is attached to the base 202 so as to define a fluid pocket 214 ( see fig1 ). the overlying portion 212 may be attached to the base 202 by use of an adherent or other acceptable method such as ultrasonic welding . the fluid pocket 214 is generally plough shaped with a narrow end portion 216 . two trailing portions 218 and 220 extend away from the end portion 224 and diverge from each other . the trailing portions 218 and 220 join a wide end portion 222 so as to form a generally triangular shape when viewed from above the fluid pocket 214 ( see fig1 ). the protective pad 200 further includes a telltale 224 which in this embodiment extends from the narrow end portion 216 . the telltale 224 includes a marker 226 . the protective pad 200 is implanted on a bone such as the spinal column 128 following essentially the same steps set forth above with respect to the protective pad 158 . the procedure for performing , a revision surgery in the vicinity of the implanted protective pad 200 is the same as the method set forth above with respect to protective pad 158 until the telltale 224 is followed to the protective pad 200 . the protective pad 200 is configured such that when it is implanted in the area of the lumbar l5 140 and the sacrum 142 , the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 are spaced apart from the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 by the plough shaped fluid pocket 214 as shown in fig1 . the protective pad 200 is further configured such that the overlying portion 212 extends away from the spinal column 128 to about the same height as the aorta is located above the spinal column 128 . accordingly , when the telltale 224 is tracked to the protective pad 200 , at least some of the overlying portion 212 will be exposed between the iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 on one side and the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 on the other side as shown in fig1 . the area about the protective pad 200 is then prepared for retraction of the blood vessels . in a preferred approach , a longitudinal incision 228 is made through the overlying portion 212 along a line between the narrow end portion 216 and the wide end portion 222 . typically , the longitudinal incision 228 will be made approximately along the centerline of the overlying portion 212 . depending on the conditions for a particular patient , the location of the incision may be adjusted to one side or the other . transverse incisions 230 and 232 are made along the wide end portion 222 . of course , the order of the incisions may be modified . the longitudinal incision 228 and the transverse incisions 230 and 232 form leafs 234 and 236 . once a leaf is sufficiently formed , a retractor ( not shown ) is placed through the longitudinal incision 228 and into the fluid pocket 214 . the retractor is used to move one of the leafs 234 or 236 in a direction away from the longitudinal incision 228 . as shown in fig1 , the leaf 234 is positioned against the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 and their branches . the leaf 234 thus provides protection to the common iliac vein 148 , the common iliac artery 154 and their respective branches . the leaf 234 may further be used to retract the common iliac vein 148 and the common iliac artery 154 and their branches to reveal exposed portion 238 of the base 202 . if desired , a second retractor ( not shown ) may be used to move the other of the leafs 234 or 236 in a direction opposite of the direction of the first retraction . thus , as shown in fig1 , the leaf 236 is positioned against the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 and their branches . the leaf 236 thus provides protection to the common iliac vein 150 , the common iliac artery 155 and their respective branches . the leaf 234 may further be used to retract the common iliac vein 150 and the common iliac artery 156 and their branches to reveal portion 240 of the base 202 . an incision may then be made through the base 202 using one or both of the exposed areas 238 and 240 to reveal the targeted area . while the present invention has been illustrated by the description of exemplary processes and system components , and while the various processes and components have been described in considerable detail , applicant does not intend to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will also readily appear to those ordinarily skilled in the art . the invention in its broadest aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details , implementations , or illustrative examples shown and described . accordingly , departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant &# 39 ; s general inventive concept .
a method of performing at least one surgical procedure is disclosed . the method includes : preparing a patient for a first surgical procedure ; making a first incision through the skin of the patient in accordance with the first surgical procedure ; exposing a target area for the first surgical procedure through the first incision ; performing a step of the first surgical procedure on the target area for the first surgical procedure ; placing a protective pad with a fluid pocket between a vulnerable anatomical part and the target area for the first surgical procedure ; and closing the first incision in accordance with the first surgical procedure with the protective pad between the vulnerable anatomical part and the target area . a protective system for facilitating revision surgery is also disclosed .