Surgical treatment for injuries of the middle and lower cervical spine.

We reviewed the surgical treatment of 31 patients with burst fractures or teardrop dislocation fractures in the middle and lower cervical spine. Patients were treated with anterior instrumentation, posterior instrumentation, or a combination of both. Patients were evaluated radiographically and with the Frankel neurological outcomes grading scale. Anterior decompression and fusion restored the spinal canal diameter by approximately 60% whereas the posterior or combined approaches restored the canal diameter by only 6%. In addition, nine of 24 patients treated anteriorly gained improved neurological function whereas none of the patients treated posteriorly had neurological improvement. Based on the anatomical and neurological findings, the study demonstrates that anterior fusion is preferable to posterior fusion for the treatment of burst fractures and tear-drop dislocation fractures of the middle and lower cervical spine.