Atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion using ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene cable

This article attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) cable system in atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion through the clinical results of 10 postoperative patients with atlantoaxial subluxation secondary to rheumatoid arthritis. Among them, one patient with only one screw placed owing to an anomalous vertebral artery had the correction loss of the 3-mm atlas-dens interval after surgery. Another patient had a second operation to remove the screw and cable after 2 years 11 months because a unilateral transarticular screw had come to protrude through the lateral mass of the atlas ventrally. All patients had achieved C1-C2 osseous fusion without any complications associated with this cable system. The UHMW-PE cable is a very useful material as sublaminar wiring in atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation and posterior fusion.