Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the impact of several factors, including patients' intraoperative position, intraoperative visualization technique, fixation method, and type of screws and their parameters, on the frequency of intraoperative screw-associated complications in posterior transarticular C1-C2 fixation. Methods A systematic review of the PubMed database between January 1986 and March 2018 was performed. The key inclusion criteria comprised detailed descriptions of the surgical technique and post-operative screw-associated complications. Results The initial search resulted in 1041 abstracts, and a total of 54 abstracts were included in the present study. The overall number of operated patients was 2306. In this group, 4439 screws were inserted. The rate of screw-associated complications during the different time periods was estimated upon meta-analysis. Statistical analysis of the screw malposition rate, vertebral artery injury rate, screw breakage rate based on patients' intraoperative position, intraoperative visualization technique, fixation method, and type of implants and their parameters was also performed. Conclusions The factors that help reduce the rate of screw-associated complications include the intraoperative application of biplanar fluoroscopy or neuronavigation system, the use of 4 mm or thicker lag screws, and screw insertion through contraincisions using cannulated ported instruments. On the other hand, the potential risk factors of screw-associated complications include inadequate intraoperative head fixation using skeletal traction, uniplanar fluoroscopy-guided screw insertion, screw insertion using the posterior midline approach, and the use of 3.5 mm or thinner full-threaded screws.Graphical abstract These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
Introduction:Kimmerle anomaly is the bony ridge between the lateral mass of atlas and its posterior arch or transverse process. This bony tunnel may include the V3 segment of the vertebral artery, vertebral vein, posterior branch of the C1 spinal nerve, and the sympathetic nerves, which results in the clinical symptoms of this disease. Reports on the surgical treatment of Kimmerle anomaly are rare. There are no reports on minimally invasive surgical treatment of this pathology.Materials and Methods:Six patients with Kimmerle anomaly were treated from 2015 until 2016. Three patients underwent routine surgery through the posterior midline (posterior midline approach [PMA] group). The other three patients underwent decompression with a paravertebral transmuscular approach (PTMA group). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, clinical symptoms before and after surgery as well as intra- and post-operative complications were compared between the PTMA and PMA groups.Results:The results of the surgical treatments were assessed at discharge and 1 year later. Blood loss, operation time, and intensity of pain at the postoperative wound area were lower in the PTMA group. There were no postoperative complications. The delayed surgical treatment outcomes did not depend on the method of artery decompression.Conclusions:Surgical treatment of vertebral artery compression in patients with Kimmerle anomaly is preferable in cases where conservative treatment is inefficient. A minimally invasive PTMA is an alternative to the routine midline posterior approach, providing direct visualization of the compressed V3 segment of the vertebral artery and minimizing postoperative pain.
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