title: Pitfalls in the surgical management of cervical spine injuries.
abstract: Records of 69 cervical spine injury patients referred to the authors' institution over a 3-year period were reviewed. The senior author documented "definite" and "probable" pitfalls occurring in the pre-, intra-, and postoperative management. Diagnosis, traction, bracing, surgical timing, intraoperative technical errors, and incorrect surgical decisions were noted. Of the 69 patients, 39 (56%) suffered a pitfall of management. Twenty-seven patients (39%) accumulated 49 "definite" pitfalls between them and 12 patients (17%) suffered a total of 20 "probable" pitfalls. Of the 49 definite pitfalls, 7 (14%) were preoperative, 17 (34%) were those of surgical decision making, 21 (43%) were operative, and 4 (9%) postoperative. Diagnostic errors and incorrect bracing and traction led to neurological worsening. Intraoperatively, technical errors (30%), wrong timing of surgery (24%), and incorrect choice of operation (16%) were the common pitfalls. Postoperative pitfalls consisted of inappropriate bracing (17%). A Cervical Spine Research Society review (1989) rated complications of cervical spine surgery at 6.3% (63/992). In this study, a sizeable portion (56%) of cervical spine injury patients requiring surgery were at a risk of complications. Short of complications, there are areas of management where errors may have less well-documented undesirable effects or increase the potential for morbidity. An awareness of these pitfalls and increased use of non-operative treatment may eliminate up to 73% of the pitfalls and thereby decrease the morbidity associated with the management of cervical spine injuries.
authors.affiliation: Specialists Medical Corporation, Fairfield, CA 94533, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Badani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schildhauer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016268:Internal Fixators; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome