We performed a retrospective, comparative study of elderly patients
with an increased risk from anaesthesia who had undergone either
anterior screw fixation (ASF) or halo vest immobilisation (HVI)
for a type II odontoid fracture. A total of 80 patients aged 65 years or more who had undergone
either ASF or HVI for a type II odontoid fracture between 1988 and
2013 were reviewed. There were 47 women and 33 men with a mean age
of 73 (65 to 96; standard deviation 7). All had an American Society
of Anesthesiologists score of 2 or more.Aims
Patients and Methods
We have reviewed 81 patients with fractures of the odontoid process treated between May 1983 and July 1997, by anterior screw fixation. There were 29 patients with Anderson and D’Alonzo type-II fractures and 52 with type III. Roy-Camille’s classification identified the direction and instability of the fracture. Operative fixation was carried out on 48 men and 33 women with a mean age of 57 years.