Chip fracture through the superior articular facet with compressive cervical radiculopathy

Four patients with cervical radiculopathy secondary to a chip fracture through the superior articular facet have been treated in the past 2 years. These small-element fractures may occasionally pass unrecognized. Although oblique X-rays are helpful, lateral tomography has provided the most precise detail. The pathological process is a compressive radiculopathy, explicable on the basis of the foraminal anatomy. The authors feel myelography is not essential. The preferred surgical approach is posterior: the results have been excellent.