title: Computed tomography morphometric analysis for lateral mass screw placement in the pediatric subaxial cervical spine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lateral mass screws are routinely placed throughout the subaxial cervical spine in adults, but there are few clinical or radiographic studies regarding lateral mass fixation in children. The morphology of pediatric cervical lateral masses may be associated with greater difficulty in obtaining adequate purchase. The authors examined the lateral masses of the subaxial cervical spine in pediatric patients to define morphometric differences compared with adults, establish guidelines for lateral mass instrumentation in children, and define potential limitations of this technique in the pediatric age group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Morphometric analysis was performed on CT of the lateral masses of C3-7 in 56 boys and 14 girls. Measurements were obtained in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For most levels and measurements, results in boys and girls did not differ significantly; the few values that were significantly different are not likely to be clinically significant. On the other hand, younger (< 8 years of age) and older children (≥ 8 years of age) differed significantly at every level and measurement except for facet angularity. Sagittal diagonal, a measurement that closely estimates screw length, was found to increase at each successive caudal level from C-3 to C-7, similar to the adult population. A screw acceptance analysis found that all patients ≥ 4 years of age could accept at least a 3.5 × 10 mm lateral mass screw.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lateral mass screw fixation is feasible in the pediatric cervical spine, particularly in children age 4 years old or older. Lateral mass screw fixation is feasible even at the C-7 level, where pedicle screw placement has been advised in lieu of lateral mass screws because of the small size and steep trajectory of the C-7 lateral mass. Nonetheless, all pediatric patients should undergo high-resolution, thin-slice CT preoperatively to assess suitability for lateral mass screw fixation.
authors.affiliation: Neuro-Spine Program, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Texas Children's Hospital, and Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Al-Shamy
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.forename: Javier A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mata
authors.forename: Akash J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Steven W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jea
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001863:Bone Screws; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome