Surgical outcome of locked facet in distractive flexion injury of the subaxial cervical spine

This study looks at the best surgical way to treat a specific neck injury called a locked facet distractive flexion injury (LF-DFI). This injury happens when the facet joint in the neck is dislocated and stuck, often due to a sudden bending force. The main question is whether to approach the surgery from the front (anterior) or the back (posterior) of the neck. The researchers reviewed the records of 12 male patients who had this type of injury and were treated at their hospital. They divided the patients into two groups depending on whether they had surgery from the front or the back of the neck first. The study found that using a posterior approach, where surgeons remove a small part of the facet joint from the back, might be a safer way to reduce the dislocation and prevent further nerve damage compared to an anterior approach.

• 1
  Posterior approach with partial facetectomy is considered a safer surgical technique than an anterior approach in terms of worsening postoperative neurologic status.
• 2
  Two patients who underwent the anterior approach showed worsened neurologic symptoms postoperatively.
• 3
  All patients achieved radiological fusion at the final follow-up.