TY - JOUR T1 - Placement of C1 Pedicle Screws Using Minimal Exposure: Radiographic, Clinical, and Literature Validation JF - International Journal of Spine Surgery JO - Int J Spine Surg DO - 10.14444/2043 VL - 9 SP - 43 AU - Richard P. Menger AU - Christopher M. Storey AU - Menarvia K.C. Nixon AU - Justin Haydel AU - Anil Nanda AU - Anthony Sin Y1 - 2015/01/01 UR - http://ijssurgery.com//content/9/43.abstract N2 - Background Traditional C1-2 fixation involves placement of C1 lateral mass screws. Evolving techniques have led to the placement of C1 pedicle screws to avoid exposure of the C1-C2 joint capsule. Our minimal dissection technique utilizes anatomical landmarks with isolated exposure of C2 and the inferior posterior arch of C1. We evaluate this procedure clinically and radiographically through a technical report.Methods Consecutive cases of cranial-vertebral junction surgery were reviewed for one fellowship trained spinal surgeon from 2008-2014. Information regarding sex, age, indication for surgery, private or public hospital, intra-operative complications, post-operative neurological deterioration, death, and failure of fusion was extracted. Measurement of pre-operative axial and sagittal CT scans were performed for C1 pedicle width and C1 posterior arch height respectively.Results 64 patients underwent posterior cranio-vertebral junction fixation surgery. 40 of these patients underwent occipital-cervical fusion procedures. 7/9 (77.8%) C1 instrumentation cases were from trauma with the remaining two (22.2%) from oncologic lesions. The average blood loss among isolated C1-C2 fixation was 160cc. 1/9 patients (11.1%) suffered pedicle breech requiring sub-laminar wiring at the C1 level.On radiographic measurement, the average height of the C1 posterior arch was noted at 4.3mm (range 3.8mm to 5.7mm). The average width of the C1 pedicle measured at 5.3mm (range 2.8 to 8.7mm). The patient with C1 pedicle screw failure had a pedicle width of 2.78mm on pre-operative axial CT imaging.Conclusion Our study directly adds to the literature with level four evidence supporting a minimal dissection of C1 arch in the placement of C1 pedicle screws with both radiographic and clinical validation.Clinical Relevance Justification of this technique avoids C2 nerve root manipulation or sacrifice, reduces bleeding associated with the venous plexus, and leaves the third segment of the vertebral artery unexplored. Pre-operative review of imaging is critical in the placement of C1-C2 instrumentation. ER -