Background: Fractures of the cervical spine are a frequent injury in the elderly with potentially devastating consequences. In most cases surgical therapy is required, in hyperextension fractures most often with anterior cervical fusion. Methods: We report a case of an 88-year old patient with a fracture of C7 (AO-type B3) who underwent anterior cervical fusion with manubrium sterni osteotomy f...

STUDY DESIGN A radiographic review of 87 patients with either unilateral or bilateral facet dislocations or fracture/dislocations treated with anterior cervical discectomy, fusion, and plating. OBJECTIVE The primary objective of this study was to report the incidence of radiographic failure and factors that would predispose to this loss of alignment. The secondary objective was to report the ...

Posterior cervical decompression and fusion can be performed for various spinal conditions. Previous rates of pseudoarthrosis have been reported in up to 38% of patients. The use of bone morphogenic protein (BMP) has been approved for use in certain anterior lumbar interbody fusion techniques to decrease the incidence of pseudoarthrosis. Bone morphogenic protein in the anterior cervical spine c...

Cervical myelopathy is a rare but potentially dangerous complication of rheumatoid arthritis and presents considerable therapeutic problems. A conservative approach carries high mortality and surgical intervention is not without serious risks. Reduction of subluxation and posterior fusion is widely practised but may require prolonged bed rest and continuous skull traction, sometimes for many we...

STUDY DESIGN Comprehensive literature review. PURPOSE To document the criteria for fusion utilized in these studies to determine if a consensus on the definition of a solid fusion exists. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Numerous studies have reported on fusion rates following anterior cervical arthrodesis. There is a wide discrepancy in the fusion rates in these studies. While factors such as graft ...