In view of the high incidence of late instability during conservative
treatment of cervical spine fractures, operative stabilization should
be performed as soon as possible. Besides immediate decompression of t
he spinal cord, rapid mobilisation of the patient without external fix
ation is possible. We report on the results of operative treatment in
97 patients with injuries of the lower cervical spine. The indication
for spondylodesis as well as the surgical methods and their complicati
ons are discussed.