[Treatment of injuries of the cervical spine]

Injuries of the cervical spine are re-evaluated at present. New surgical procedures and research on the stability, when these procedures are used, caused that surgical treatment is used more frequently. Attention is draw to provisions in the field as well as in hospitals, on the diagnostic approach and classification of these injuries, on the procedure of conservative surgical treatment. The domain of conservative treatment are injuries of the upper cervical spine (C1 and C2); injuries of the lower cervical spine are frequently unstable, and therefore frequently indicated for operation. Attention is drawn to modern views on surgical treatment of comminuted fractures of the atlas and the dens axis. The authors analyzed their own material from 1986 to April 30, 1989 and in case-histories of three patients they draw attention to their therapeutic method. The authors demonstrate their own modified plates for the anterior stabilization of the cervical spine and their modification of the Halo device "Halo Vest". They discuss biomechanical properties of posterior and anterior stabilization methods.