Odontoid fractures represent 9–15% of adult cervical fractures. These injuries have high mortality and morbidity rates. Surgery is recommended, particularly for type 2 fractures, because of high non-fusion rates and instability. Ten cases that received surgery at the Uludag University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery in 2010 due to odontoid fractures were examined retrospectively. Eight of the patients were men and two were women. The mean age was 54.1 (range: 35–80) years. The etiologies of the fractures were traffic accidents in four cases, falling from a height in four cases, and one case of a sporting accident, while one patient had no history of trauma. In preoperative examinations, there was no neurological deficit for eight patients, but two patients had tetraparesis. All patients received fixation surgery with lateral mass screws. There were no postoperative complications. The advantages of this technique are rotational stability, a low neurological injury rate, and a requirement for low amounts of bone grafts. There was no non-fusion in the long-term follow-up. This study suggests that posterior cervical stabilization with lateral mass screws performed by experienced surgeons is a good treatment alternative for odontoid fractures.
Keywords: Lateral mass screw, odontoid fracture, posterior segmental stabilization