Feasibility of C2 Vertebra Screws Placement in Patient With Occipitalization of Atlas: A Tomographic Study

Occipitalization of atlas (OA) is a congenital disease with the possibility of anomalous bony anatomies and the C2 pedicle screw insertion is technically challenging. However, there are no existing literatures clarified the dimensions and angulations of the C2 pedicles, lamina and lateral masses for screw insertion in patients with OA. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the morphometric features of C2 for screw placement in OA to guide the use of surgical screws. Measurements of the OA patients on the computer tomography (CT) images including lamina angle, length and thickness, pedicle angle, length and thickness, and lateral mass thickness and length of the axis vertebra. The OA patients data were compared with age and gender matched cohort of randomly selected patients in a control group without OA. The picture archiving and communication system was used for all patients who had received cervical CT scanning between January 2001 and January 2015. Measurements were performed independently by 2 experienced observers who reviewed the CT scans and recorded the patients with OA. Statistical analysis was performed at a level of significance P < 0.05. A total of 73 patients (29 males and 44 females) were eligible to be included in the OA group. In most of the measurements the pathological cohort had significantly smaller values compared to the control group (P < 0.05). In the OA group, only 45% of the pedicles and 88% of the lamina had thicknesses bigger than 3.5 mm. Both groups had all pedicle and lamina lengths bigger than 12 mm. Regarding the length of the lateral mass, no value was bigger than 12 mm in the OA group, whereas 40% of the values in the control group were bigger than 12 mm. The average pedicle and laminar angles were 37° and 49° in the patients with OA, respectively. The variable anatomy in patients with OA needs to be taken into account when performing spinal stabilization as the C2 bony architectures are significantly smaller than normal. Anatomically, translaminar screw is a more viable option in comparison with pedicle screw for C2 fixation in OA. Nevertheless, the suitability should be fully assessed prior to surgery.