Early anterior decompression and fusion for crush fractures of cervical vertebrae.

From 1965 to 1991, 273 patients with crush fractures of cervical vertebrae were treated. They were sustained by young people in diving accidents, road accidents, or falls from a height. Spinal cord involvement with a varied degree of tetraplegia was usually present. The results of management by nonoperative or operative means have been compared. There has been neurological improvement in 14% of nonoperative and 44% of operative cases. Early surgical decompression by an anterior approach with stabilization by a bone graft is advocated to improve outcome and reduce the time in hospital.