| Lateral Mass Screw Fixation in Elderly Patients; Complication Analysis of 139 Screws in Subaxial Cervical Spines |
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Kyung-Kyu Lee , Dae-Chul Cho , Joo-Kyung Sung , Kyung-Hun Nam , Kyoung-Tae Kim |
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Department of Neurosurgery, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea |
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| Abstract |
Objective
Many studies have documented the efficacy of lateral mass screws, however, to the best of author's knowledge, no studies examining the efficacy and we evaluated efficacy and safety of lateral mass screws in elderly patients.
Methods
Over a 5 year period, a total of 139 lateral mass screws were placed in 23 patients ages over the age of 60. Hospital record of these patients were reviewed retrospectively for identification of associated complications. Computed tomography (CT) scan was used for evaluation of screw position with facet, foraminal violation.
Results
A total of 139 screws were instrumented in the subaxial cervical spine of 23 patients. Of these screws, 117 were placed using a unicortical method, whereas 22 were placed using a bicortical method. Analysis of 23 cases showed trauma (11 cases) or degenerative disease (12 cases). Three screws were skipped due to fragmented fracture of a lateral mass induced by trauma, and 2 screws were failed due to intraoperative fracture of a lateral mass. In the evaluation of the immediate postoperative CT scans, 2 screws showed facet joint violation. All patients achieved solid fusion and no cases of vertebral artery injury, dural tears, significant hematoma formation, superficial or deep infection, or progressive degenerative change at an adjacent segment or death were identified.
Conclusion
Our clinical data reveals that lateral mass screw fixation is a safe and effective stabilization technique for use with elderly patients with minimal complications and low rate of morbidity. |
| Key Words:
Lateral mass screwㆍElderlyㆍComplication |
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