The choice of stabilization technique for cervical spine injuries

Background Cervical spine injuries (CSI) are considered to be a major trauma with no well-established criteria for the choice of treatment technique. Objective Determine criteria for the choice of surgical technique to address CSI and review current tendencies in stabilization approaches used for CSI. Design Retrospective review and literature survey. Material and methods Retrospective review included 101 CSI cases with 24 craniocervical and 77 subaxial injuries, 48 CSI publications (9 books and guidelines, and 39 articles). The patients were treated with either anterior (ACDF, ACCF) or posterior fixation using screw constructs, or with 360° stabilization. Results Subaxial spine injury accounts for 75 % of all CSI. C2 vertebra injury is the most severe among craniocervical trauma. Posterior C1-C2 fixation with Harms and Magerl techniques remains the method of choice. SLIC and CSISS scoring systems are mostly used to assess subaxial injury. Anterior fixation is common for unstable subaxial injury. Posterior screw fixation has become more common. Conclusion Injuries to the cervical spine at the С2 vertebra fractures are most challenging, and posterior fixation is the method of choice for the operative stabilization. Subaxial injuries require a thorough assessment of posterior supporting complex integrity. Anterior fixation remains the most common method of treatment. Multipillar subaxial injuries require posterior fixation and 360° stabilization in the majority of the cases.