Objective: Surgical management of cervical spinal fractures accompanying ankylosing spondylitis (ASCSF) is intractable in clinical practice. There is still debate about whether surgery by a single-anterior approach is enough for treating ASCSF. The purpose of this study is to summarize and share relevant experience and lessons from both our team and the literature.
Methods: Patients referred to our center for ASCSF following single-anterior surgery (from January 2008 to December 2020) were distinguished and enrolled. In addition, literature published from 2000 to 2021 on PubMed and Web of Science databases was systematically reviewed.
Results: A total of 63 patients (7 from our center and 56 from the literature) who underwent single-anterior surgery for treating ASCSF were brought into this study. The average follow-up time of patients in our center is 44 months. The average age of all patients was 58.6. C6/7 was the most commonly injured level (22 patients, 34.9%), and 44 patients (69.8%) experienced neurological impairment at admission. Most ASCSF patients have lordotic cervical alignment and minimal displacement of the fracture. A total of 8 patients died at an early stage after surgery. Apart from these 8 cases, the incidence rates of general complications and surgical complications were relatively 10.9% and 20.0% respectively. The incidence analysis revealed pneumonia (5.45%) as the predominant general complication, contrasting with implant failure (14.55%), which emerged as the most common surgical complication. Among the 8 cases (14.55%) demonstrating implant failure, radiographic analysis revealed preserved cervical lordosis in 4 patients (50%), kyphotic deformity in 1 patient (12.5%), while cervical alignment data were unavailable for the remaining 3 cases (37.5%). Moreover, 29 patients (52.7%) achieved improvement, and 18 patients (37.5%) maintained stable neurological function.
Conclusions: For most ASCSF patients with preserved lordotic alignment and minimal displacement, a single anterior surgery can achieve significant neurological improvement and result in a relatively lower incidence of complications. This provides a good basis for orthopedic physicians to handle cervical spine trauma patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
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