A case report of a 41-year-old man who had a delayed pharyngo-esophageal perforation without instrumentation failure 7 years after anterior cervical spine plating is presented and the literature on this issue is reviewed. This injury resulted from repetitive friction/ traction between the retropharyngo-esophageal wall and the cervical plate construct leading to a pseudodiverticulum and perforation. Successful treatment of the perforation was obtained after surgical repair using a sternocleidomastoid muscle flap. This case stresses the necessity of careful long-term follow-up in patients with anterior cervical spine plating for early detection of possible perforation and the use of muscle flap as the treatment of choice during surgical repair.

Fenestrated screws with PMMA augmentation offers a possibility to treat patients with reduced bone quality due to severe osteoporosis.

No abstract

All stabilization methods showed good clinical results, but cannulated screws augmented with PMMA seem to provide better implant stability with the lowest rate of loosening. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.