Abstract
Purpose
Lateral mass mini-screws used in plated cervical laminoplasty might penetrate into facet joints. The objective is to observe this complication incidence and to identify the optimal areas for 5- and 7-mm-long mini-screws to implant on lateral mass.
Methods
47 patients who underwent plated cervical laminoplasty were included. The optimal area for mini-screws implanting was set according to pre-operative 3D CT reconstruction data. Then, each posterior–lateral mass surface was divided into three regions: 7-mm region, 5-mm region, and dangerous area. The mini-screw implanted region was recorded. Post-operative CT images were used to identify whether the mini-screws penetrated into facet joints.
Results
235 mini-plates and 470 lateral mass mini-screws were used in the study. 117 (24.9%) mini-screws penetrated 88 (37.4%) facet joints. The 5-mm-long mini-screw optimal area occupied the upper 72, 65, 65, 64, and 65 % area of the posterior–lateral mass surface for C3–7, while the 7-mm-long mini-screw optimal area encompassed the upper 54, 39, 40, 33, and 32 %. Only 7-mm-long mini-screws were used to fix the plate to the lateral mass. 4 of 240 mini-screws in 7-mm region, 67 of the 179 mini-screws in 5-mm region, and 46 of the 51 mini-screws in dangerous region penetrated into the facet joint. The differences in the rate of facet joint penetration related to region were statistically significant (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
The facet joint destruction by mini-screws was not a rare complication in plated cervical laminoplasty. The optimal areas we proposed may help guide the mini-screw implantation positions.
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Chen, H., Li, H., Deng, Y. et al. Optimal area of lateral mass mini-screws implanted in plated cervical laminoplasty: a radiography anatomy study. Eur Spine J 26, 1140–1148 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-016-4785-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-016-4785-9