The use of virtual fluoroscopy in managing acute type II odontoid fracture with anterior single-screw fixation. A safe, effective, elegant and fast form of treatment

Summary

Background. The management of odontoid fractures represents both a clinical and a technical challenge due to the singular anatomy and biomechanics of the region. At present there is still much controversy as far as any form of management (surgical vs. conservative) is concerned and in any case there is not sufficient evidence to support a standardized form of treatment. This study was designed to further evaluate safety and efficacy of anterior odontoid single-screw fixation and to better determine the usefulness of Image Guided Surgery Virtual Fluoroscopy in treating such cases assessing also its advantages over traditional fluoroscopy and CT-guided frameless stereotaxy in the upper cervical spine surgery.

Methods. This was a retrospective review of ten patients presented during a short period of 18 months with acute traumatic Type II odontoid fractures. Nine underwent fixation within a mean of 3 days after injury, whereas a patient had to be operated upon on the 22nd day due to poor alignment with conservative treatment and ongoing instability. All patients postoperatively were fitted in a collar and then followed-up with serial clinical and radiographic examinations.

Findings. Radiological signs of fusion were seen in 10 cases (100%) (mean follow-up: 16 months). No complications occurred during the surgical procedure, nor were any instrumentation failures recorded; all patients remained neurologically intact.

Conclusions. We believe that anterior odontoid screw fixation using Image Guided Surgery virtual fluoroscopy is a safe, effective, less time consuming and low x-ray exposure technique and we recommend this as the preferred treatment method for acute Type II odontoid fractures. Moreover, the use of image guided technology affords more precision, confidence and safety enabling the surgeon to approach the upper cervical spine in an easier and faster way.