[Injuries of the cervical spine in children and adolescents]

Ligamentous and osseous injuries of the cervical spine during growth are extremely rare and therapeutic principles for such lesions are ill-defined. In order to help solve some diagnostic and therapeutic problems a retrospective study of 30 children was carried out. There were 5 discoligamentous injuries, 5 fractures of the atlas, 1 fracture of the arcus C2, 8 fractures of the odontoid, and 11 vertebral body compression fractures. The injuries were caused by motor vehicle accident in 9, by diving into shallow water in 7, by falling from a height in 7, by a sports accident in 6, and by a direct trauma in 1 patient. Four children died, three of them due to concomitant brain injury. Two patients suffered permanent neurologic disability due to spinal cord trauma. Five patients underwent an operation. Conservative therapy of flexion-compression fractures of the vertebral bodies caused kyphotic deformity. Ventral interbody fusion in two patients had excellent long-term results. All odontoid fractures were treated by applying a plaster cast and healed promptly. Diagnostic problems were mainly caused by the hypermobility of the upper cervical spine.