OBJECTIVE: Cervical spine encompasses a bridge role between the head and the lower parts of the spine and therefore has unique properties. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the cervical sagittal alignment parameters in pediatric and adult non-surgical patients and to find any differences in respect of age, sex and admission type. METHODS: All patients who were admitted to emergency and neurosurgery clinics of Diyarbakir Bismil State Hospital due to cervical spine problems (trauma, radiculopathy, paraspinal pain) in 2014 were enrolled retrospectively into the study. Cervical anterior-posterior and lateral X-rays were obtained. Our exclusion criteria were cervical coronal deformity, multitrauma, Glasgow Coma Scale <15, traumatic disruption of the cervical spine, history of malignancy, spinal infection, metabolic or rheumatologic diseases. RESULTS: There were 44 female and 55 male patients (n=99) in the study. Thirty-five (35.35%) of the patients were younger than 18 years of age. Mean cervical spinal alignment parameters were as follows: -42.81+/-11.23degrees (OC2), -17.15+/-11.48degrees (C2-C7), -29.82+/-7.60degrees (T1 slope), -3.62+/-3.05degrees (C3), -3.14+/-3.05 (C4), -3.80+/-2.74degrees (C5), -3.12+/-2.36degrees (C6), -3.43+/-2.53degrees (C7). Positive correlations were observed between age-C2C7 angle, C2C7 angle-T1 slope, C3 angle-C4 angle, C4 angle-OC2 angle, C4 angle-T1 slope, C4 angle-C5 angle. The one only negative correlation was between OC2 angle-C2C7 angle. CONCLUSION: In this regional study, it has been observed that global cervical lordosis increases as age increases. C4 vertebra is in the middle of this evaluation as it has many correlations with other cervical segments, which should be kept in mind when making surgical plans for this delicate spine region.
Adult ; Animals ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Emergencies* ; Female ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Head ; Hospitals, State* ; Humans ; Lordosis ; Male ; Neurosurgery* ; Radiculopathy ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine ; Turkey*

Chiari type I malformation is a tonsillar herniation more than 3 mm from the level of foramen magnum, with or without concurrent syringomyelia. Different surgical treatments have been developed for syringomyelia secondary to Chiari's malformations: craniovertebral decompression with or without plugging of the obex, syringo-subarachnoid, syringo-peritoneal, and theco-peritoneal shunt placement. Shunt placement procedures are useful for neurologically symptomatic large-sized syrinx. In this paper, authors define the first successful treatment of a patient with syringomyelia due to Chiari type I malformation using a pre-defined new technique of syringo-subarachnoid-peritoneal shunt with T-tube system.
Decompression ; Encephalocele ; Foramen Magnum ; Humans ; Syringomyelia*

Spinal stabilization with fusion is the widely used method for traumatic or pathologic fracture of spine, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis. Complications may emerge during or after the operations. Infection, hematoma and neurological deficits are early noticed findings. Screw and/or rod fractures present in long-term after surgery. Rod migration in out of the spinal column is a rare entity. A 67-year-old woman was visited our clinic for right leg pain. She had a previous spinal instrumentation surgery for spondylolisthesis in another center 6 years before. After radiological work-up, a distally migrated rod piece was observed in the retroperitoneal portion. The patient was operated for degenerative change; old instruments were replaced and extended to the L2 level with posterior spinal fusion. After the operation, her right leg pain improved. The asymptomatic migrated rod piece has regularly been followed clinically and radiologically, since then. Although it has rarely been reported, migration of the instrumentation material should be kept in mind. Spinal fixation without fusion makes the mechanical system vulnerable to motion effects of spine, especially in a degenerative and osteoporotic background. Long-term, even life-long follow-up is necessary for late term complications.
Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Spontaneous ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Leg ; Spinal Fusion ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spine ; Spondylolisthesis