• Ye Wu, Xinwei Shao, Xinjia Wang, and Jican Zeng.
• Department of Spine Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, People's Republic of China.
• World Neurosurg. 2020 Oct 1; 142: e364-e371.

ObjectiveWe sought to clarify the safety and unlocking mechanism of the Z-shape elevating-pulling closed reduction (ZR) technique and to analyze the differences in facet contact force and intraspinal pressure during subaxial facet dislocation reduction using the ZR technique and traditional skull traction closed reduction (SR).MethodsIn 15 human cadaveric skull-neck-thorax specimens, reproducible unilateral and bilateral facet dislocations (UFDs/BFDs) were created at the C5-C6 level and then reduced by applying the ZR and SR techniques, respectively. Tekscan FlexiForce A-201 pressure sensors were used to measure the anterior and posterior intraspinal pressure and injured facet contact force under physiological conditions and before and after reduction. The maximum pressures during the reduction process were recorded.ResultsAfter creation of the facet dislocation, the anterior and posterior intraspinal pressure and facet contact force were significantly increased relative to normal (P < 0.001). The UFDs and BFDs of all specimens were successfully reduced by both ZR and SR, and the intraspinal pressure and facet contact force were significantly reduced compared with before reduction (P < 0.001). Compared with SR, the maximum posterior intraspinal pressure during BFD reduction (P = 0.027) and the maximum facet contact force during UFD reduction (P < 0.001) were lower when ZR was used for closed reduction.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that ZR and SR can both be used to reduce subaxial facet dislocation and decompress the spinal cord. However, the ZR technique appears to safer and more effective than the SR technique for closed reduction of subaxial facet dislocations.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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