Syndrome Approach to the Treatmentof in Children with Cervical Spine Abnormalities

Objective. To develop a surgical scheme for management of children with cervical spine abnormalities. Material and Methods. Case histories of 62 children with cervical abnormalities were analyzed. Out of them 20 patients (2 to 16 years old) underwent various techniques of surgical treatment: halo traction, anterior and posterior instrumentation and fusion, decompression of the brain, spinal cord and cervical arteries, revision of the spinal canal, neurolysis, and meningolysis. Results. According to the basic syndrome all cervical abnormalities in children were divided into four groups, which included neutral, unstable, compressive, and ischemic abnormalities, and their combinations. Appropriate scheme of surgical treatment was developed basing on this division. Conclusion. The formation of groups in accordance with a basic syndrome makes it possible to work out an individual algorithm of examination and treatment thus preventing development of neurological complications.