title: Results of conservative treatment of unilateral cervical spine dislocations.
abstract: Unilateral cervical dislocations are less common and have fewer accompanying neurological complications than bilateral dislocations. Being therefore rated as "less serious", these injuries are often treated non-operatively. A review of 292 patients presenting with acute spine injuries revealed 32 cases of unilateral dislocation (11%). Analysis of their management showed that non-operative treatment was mostly unsatisfactory. Twenty-four of the 32 (75%) eventually required surgical correction. Surgery led to good results in all of these cases. We recommend surgery as a method of choice for patients with unilateral cervical dislocations.
authors.affiliation: Spine Department, District Orthopaedic Hospital, Piekary Slaskie, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pasciak
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doniec
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome