Soft Tissue Damage in Cervical Spine Extension Injury.
10.4055/jkoa.2007.42.4.433
- Author:
Kyung Jin SONG
1
;
Gyu Hyung KIM
;
Seong Il WANG
;
Ju Hong LEE
Author Information
1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Research Institute of Clinical Medicine,Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea. kysong@chonbuk.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Lower cervical trauma;
Distractive-extension injury;
Grading of soft tissue damage;
Spinal cord injury
- MeSH:
Humans;
Longitudinal Ligaments;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging;
Rupture;
Spinal Cord;
Spinal Cord Injuries;
Spinal Stenosis;
Spine*
- From:The Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
2007;42(4):433-443
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: To diagnose the extent of soft tissue damage with MRI, and to evaluate the relationship between soft tissue damage and a spinal cord injury in an extension injury to the lower cervical spine trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-one patients who treated surgically for an anextension injury to the cervical spine over the past 5 years, were analyzed. All patients had undergone MRI after the injury, and for the specific grading of soft tissue damage, the grades were defined from grades 1 to 5. RESULTS: The spinal cord injury developed with more than grade 3 soft tissue damage associated with a rupture of the posterior longitudinal ligament (p<0.01). The changes in signal intensity of the spinal cord also developed according to the severity of soft tissue damage (p<0.01). There was no relationship between the soft tissue damage and the spinal cord injury in spinal stenosis (p=0.75). CONCLUSION: The extent of soft tissue damage was diagnosed precisely with MRI, and there was an close relationship between the soft tissue damage and spinal cord injury in the distractive- extension injury to the lower cervical spine trauma.
