Contemporary posterior occipital fixation.

Occipitocervical fixation is technically demanding but necessary in many clinical scenarios where junctional occiptocervical instability is present. The surgeon must have a thorough knowledge of the associated anatomy, biomechanics of spinal instrumentation, and familiarity with an ever-growing number of stabilization techniques and implants. The nature of the injury, the patient's anatomy, and the quality of the host bone will ultimately determine which form of fixation is optimal. Although the contemporary modular systems, at first glance, appear to add significant surgical complexity, in truth the designs actually simplify the process by allowing the surgeon to place occipital and spinal anchors in optimal anatomic locations.