INTRODUCTION: The atlantoaxial instability may result in neurological disorders, pain and limitation of neck mobility. It is associated with serious risks of quadriplegia or sudden death. There are several techniques of C1-C2 surgical stabilization described in literature, and the most commonly used in our department and emphasized in this article are those of Harms and Magerl. OBJECTIVE: To describe the cases of the atlantoaxial arthrodesis performed in the last five years at Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Portugal, regarding the rate of consolidation, observed complications, re-intervention and comparison with published studies. METHODS: A five years retrospective study of patients who underwent atlantoaxial arthrodesis at Centro Hospitalar do Porto. RESULTS: Eleven patients were operated during the study period, most of them with traumatic causes of instability. The most common used method of arthrodesis was described by Magerl. There were no vascular lesions. There were infectious complications in four patients, and these infections were more common in patients with inflammatory disease. We obtained a rate of arthrodesis consolidation of 100%; revision surgeries were not necessary. Conclusion: The Harms and Magerl techniques of atlantoaxial posterior arthrodesis resulted in excellent treatment for the control of C1-C2 instability in our series. Patients submitted to arthrodesis because of rheumatoid instability had a high rate of infectious complications.
Spine; Atlanto-axial joint; Joint instability; Spinal fusion
