Cervical spine dislocations with unilateral facet interlocking

From this series it would appear that 17-5 per cent (92 cases from a series of 525) of all cervical lesions associated with spinal cord trauma are dislocations with unilateral facet interlocking. This type of dislocation is often missed but nevertheless with suitable radiographs the very characteristic radiographic appearances are well demonstrated. Two-thirds of these cases are initially incomplete neurological lesions which carry a good neurological prognosis directly proportional to the degree of initial neurological escape. A significant percentage reduce easily on traction alone--51 per cent of the entire series. Taking the year 1973, with 17 cases on a standardised regime of treatment and disregarding the two cases reduced by immediate manipulation under general anaesthesia, ten out of 15 (66 per cent) reduced easily on skull traction alone-possibly a more realistic figure.