Posterior stabilization of cervical spine XXXX and subluxations using plates and screws.

@entity1 @entity174 @entity4034 @entity16 @entity1691 @entity1745 @entity47384
Posterior stabilization of cervical spine @entity174 and subluxations with metal plates and screws is commonly used in Europe, but has rarely been employed by neurosurgeons in North America, where stabilization has usually been achieved with wires supplemented by bone grafts or acrylic. The limitations of the more commonly used stabilization techniques include the failure to achieve rotational stability, the necessity for intact laminae, and the requirement for bone grafting. We therefore examined the efficacy of posterior cervical plating in 19 @entity1 who had posttraumatic instability of the cervical spine between C3 and C7 without residual @entity1745 and 1 @entity1 who had a subluxation as a result of @entity4034 . Two @entity1 had no neurological deficit, 4 had partial deficits, and 14 had no neurological function below the level of injury. Operation was performed after @entity1 were medically stable and maximal @entity174 was achieved (usually within 48 hours). The plates are made of @entity47384 and contain two or three holes 13 mm apart through which 16-mm screws are placed bilaterally into the center of the articular masses of two or three adjacent vertebrae to stabilize one or two motion segments. Bone grafting is not performed. @entity1 are mobilized on the day after operation in a Philadelphia collar, which is worn for 3 months. Fourteen @entity1 had stabilization of one motion segment and 6 had stabilization over two motion segments. The mean follow-up is 9.2 months. In a single @entity1 with @entity1691 , plate fixation failed when screws pulled out. No @entity1 experienced @entity16 as a result of the operative procedure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
