pubmed-article:2615983 | pubmed:abstractText | A series of 21 patients with cervical spinal trauma, 12 patients with complete spinal lesion and 9 with incomplete spinal lesion, is reported. All these patients have been treated with surgical reduction and stabilization at average 9 hours after trauma. The authors point out pre- and intraoperative anesthesiological problems connected with early surgical operation and discuss the postoperative complications. At the follow-up of average 2 years the results were: among the 12 patients with complete spinal lesion, 2 died, 2 improved until the deambulation, 7 didn't change and 1 had no follow-up; among the 9 patients with incomplete spinal lesion, 7 improved until the deambulation, 1 didn't change and 1 worsened. Independently of the neurological recovery, the early surgical stabilization enables to reduce remarkably the incidence of the complications, to start precociously a rehabilitation, to improve the patient's expectation of life. | lld:pubmed |