title: Effect of occipitocervical fusion with screw-rod system for upper cervical spine tumor.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Craniospinal junction tumors are rare but severe lesions. Surgical stabilization has been established to be an ideal treatment for upper cervical tumor pathology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a screw-rod system for occipitocervical fusion.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 24 cases with C1 and C2 cervical tumor underwent occipitocervical fusion with Vertex screw-rod internal fixation from January 2005 to December 2012. Preoperative X-ray and MRI examinations were performed on all patients before the operation, after the operation, and during last follow-up. The JOA score was used to assess neurological function pre and postoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the patients were followed up for 6 to 42 months with an average of 24 months. The result of X-ray showed that bony fusion was successful in 18 patients at 3 months and 6 patients at 6 months of follow-ups. There was no deterioration of spinal cord injury. The JOA Scores of neurological function increased significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The screw-rod system offers strong fixation and good fusion for occipitocervical fusion. It is an effective and reliable method for reconstruction of upper cervical spine tumor.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Chenxi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Ruofu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 188 Shizi St, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China. hlyang@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Huilin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001863:Bone Screws; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome