ANTERIOR CERVICAL PLATE FIXATION WITH THE TITANIUM HOLLOW SCREW PLATESYSTEM

Although anterior cervical plates provide excellent fixation for the a nterior column, the potential risk for injury to the spinal cord or so ft tissues involved with their use has been the reason they have not g ained universal acceptance. Morscher introduced a system that attempts to prevent the migration and loosening of screws by using a cross-spl it screw head that can be locked into the plate. The secondary advanta ge of this system is that it eliminates the requirement for posterior cortex purchase and thereby decreases the risk for spinal cord injury. This article reports the authors' experience using the Morscher titan ium hollow screw cervical plate system. Forty-two patients in the seri es underwent anterior cervical arthrodesis for degenerative disease or trauma. The average number of levels fused were two. The fusion rate was 100%. Significant hardware loosening occurred in two patients. The re was no iatrogenic injury to the spinal cord or esophagus. In conclu sion, the titanium hollow screw cervical plate provides immediate stab le fixation with minimal complications. Its use should be considered i n the surgical treatment of patients requiring multilevel anterior cer vical arthrodesis.