Surgical reconstruction of the stability of lower cervical spine in children

Objective To investigate surgical reconstruction of stability of lower cervical spine in children suffering trauma, tuberculosis and tumor. Methods From January 1998 to September 2001, 8 cases of unstable lower cervical spine were treated by operations, of anterior decompression, massive iliac bone grafting, posterior fixation with spinous process tension band wiring, and fusion with heterogeneous iliac bone grafting. Resulds With an average following up of 1 year and 9 months (6 months to 4 years and 3 months), 3 cases recovered excellently, 4 cases recovered well and 1 case died of pulmonary infection. Conclusion The above results indicate that anterior decompression, massive iliac bone grafting, posterior fixation with spinous process tension band wiring and fusion with heterogeneous iliac bone grafting can be used as one of the methods to reconstruct the stability of lower cervical spine in children.