European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Surgical treatment of unstable traumatic injuries of the cervical spine can be carried out by a posterior or anterior approach, with different advantages and disadvantages. Twenty patients were treated with anterior decompression, interbody fusion with autogenous iliac bone graft, and osteosynthesis with a Louis anterior plate. The screws were inserted in the vertebral body without reaching the posterior vertebral wall. ⋯ Anterior plate instrumentation has proved itself mechanically adequate, even if it is less stable than posterior constructs. The advantages of anterior surgery compared to those of posterior surgery are such that several specific risks are acceptable. Posterior surgery is nevertheless indicated if the lesion cannot be reduced preoperatively under closed conditions.
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Summary. The results of 23 patients with symptomatic spondylolysis or mild isthmic spondylolisthesis treated by Scott's direct repair of the defect (secclusion) were analyzed with particular reference to spinal mobility and the condition of the intervertebral discs, and compared with the outcome of 25 patients treated by posterolateral segmental fusion without instrumentation. The two groups were comparable as to age at operation (17.4 +/- 5.7 vs. 15.6 +/- 2.6 years), follow-up time (54 +/- 8 vs. 54 +/- 25 months), gender, and preoperative subjective symptoms. ⋯ At this point of follow-up it is impossible to say which of the two procedures should be preferred for operative treatment of this condition in young patients. Direct repair does not protect the disc of the lytic/olisthetic segment from further degeneration. Pathologic disc changes in MRI should be interpreted with caution because their clinical relevance is still unclear.