Author(s)

Yuichiro Yokoyama, Hiroshi Takahashi, Yasuaki Iida, Yasuhiro Inoue, Keiji Hasegawa, Daisuke Suzuki, Shintaro Tsuge, Wataru Shishikura, Katsunori Fukutake, Ryo Takamatsu, Kazumasa Nakamura, Akihito Wada

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan..

We fitted a halo-vest on patients with a fracture of the odontoid process of the axis and evaluated the effects of conservative treatment on cervical muscular atrophy and the number and type of patient complaints after bone union. Four patients had Anderson Type II fractures and 6 patients had Type III fractures. Bone union was observed in all patients within 3 months after injury. After halo-vest fitting, cervical muscular atrophy increased with time, however, it gradually improved after removal of the halo-vest. Patients fixed with a halo-vest for more than 10 weeks complained of cervical discomfort and limited range of motion. No patients with fixation for less than 10 weeks had problems in bone union or had cervical complaints. Thus, less than a 10-week fixation period was considered to be appropriate.

Fracture; Odontoid Process of the Axis; Halo-Vest; Conservative Treatment

Y. Yokoyama, H. Takahashi, Y. Iida, Y. Inoue, K. Hasegawa, D. Suzuki, S. Tsuge, W. Shishikura, K. Fukutake, R. Takamatsu, K. Nakamura and A. Wada, "Evaluation of Conservative Treatment of Acute Fracture of the Odontoid Process of Axis with a Halo-Vest," Open Journal of Orthopedics, Vol. 3 No. 7, 2013, pp. 296-299. doi: 10.4236/ojo.2013.37054.