[The indications for occipito-cervical fixation. A report of three cases]

Lesions of the cranio-vertebral junction which affect bony structures and ligaments may cause instability and compression of the nervous and vascular structures. The goal of surgery is decompression of these structures and stabilization. The paper presents indications for performing the stabilisation procedure with CCD implementation in three patients suffering respectively from rheumatoid arthritis and neoplastic disease. In one patient spinal instability and spinal cord compression were due to rheumatoid disease and surgery included anterior spinal decompression in connection with posterior stabilisation. In two patients with neoplasms the retromandibular decompression with posterior stabilisation was performed.