Abstract
During the past 10-year period 235 patients with cervical injury were included in
this study. In this paper we present our clinical experiences in patients with cervical
spine injury treated surgically and conservatively and their outcome. Only few data
exist on the treatment of cervical spine injuries. The principles of the management
are still controversial. The 235 patients with cervical spine injury admitted to our
department were assessed with Frankel's grading scale and treated surgically and conservatively
according to the type and level of the injury; 172 patients were treated surgically,
and 63 patients were managed conservatively. The neurological state of the patients
and the treatment modality are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2. In the upper cervical injury, except type II odontoid fracture with a dislocation
of more than 6 mm, conservative treatment modalities were performed. In the lower
cervical injury, an anterior approach with discectomy and anterior fusion were performed
if there was spinal cord compression anteriorly. Otherwise a posterior approach with
decompression and a variety of posterior fusion techniques were used.
Key words
Cervical Spine Injury - Stabilization - Treatment - Grading
