Outcomes of C1 and C2 posterior screw fixation for upper cervical spine fusion

To achieve stable fixation of the upper cervical spine in posterior fusions, the occiput is often included. With the newer techniques, excluding fixation to the occiput will retain the occiput–cervical motion, while still allowing a stable fixation. Harms’s technique has been adapted at our institution and its effectiveness for indications such as C2 complex fractures and tumors using C1 or C2 as endpoints of a posterior fixation are reviewed. Fourteen cases were identified, consisting of one os odontoideum; four acute fractures and four non-unions of the odontoid; three tumors and two complex fractures of C2 vertebral body, and one C2–C3 post-traumatic instability. One misplaced screw without clinical consequences was the only complication recorded. Screw loosening or migration was not observed at follow-up, showing a stable fixation.