title: Anterior cervical stabilization with the synthes cervical spine locking plate system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Synthes cervical spine locking plate (CSLP) was originally designed by Mörscher and colleagues, who refined it to prevent the migration and loosening of a locking screw by using a cross-split screw head that could be locked into the plate. This eliminated the requirement of the posterior cortex purchase and thereby decreased the risk of spinal cord injury. The purpose of this report is to review our experience using the cervical spine locking plate system and to evaluate its ability to stabilize the cervical spine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients with cervical trauma, cervical spondylosis of failed anterior interbody fusion underwent anterior cervical fusion with the Synthes CSLP system between August, 1993, and April, 1996. All patients were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively by plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 20 patients achieved solid bone fusion and 19 of them had neurologic improvement, by a mean follow-up period of 36 months. No patients suffered from neurologic injury as a result of the locking device. No patient demonstrated radiologic evidence of implant failure. The postoperative MRI examination disclosed minimal implant artifacts and adequate spinal cord decompression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Synthes CSLP system for anterior stabilization provides efficacy, safety and ease of use. It also caused less distortion and minimal artifacts on postoperative MRI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*