Operative stabilisation of dislocations, fractures and fracture-dislocations of the cervical spine.

A retrospective study of 76 patients with surgically treated cervical spine injuries from 1971 to 1980 is presented. The indications for operative treatment, the technical procedures and the preliminary results are analysed. The conclusions are as follows: 1) A rational classification of the cervical spine injuries must precede the decision for operative or conservative management. 2) The intra- and postoperative complications are low with trained staff. 3) Unsatisfactory results from an operation are due to inappropriate indication for an anterior, posterior or combined fusion. 4) A laminectomy should never be done without a fusion, and a decompression of the spinal canal is better done as a rule by an anterior approach. 5) In children an anterior fashion should be avoided in order to prevent deformity from growth arrest of the end plates of the vertebrae. 6) In contrast to the degenerative disc disease the anterior fusion should always be secured by a plate.