2024 Volume 38 Issue 1 Pages 1-7
We investigated the appropriateness of performing endovascular treatment for vertebral artery injuries before reduction or surgery for cervical spine injuries combined with bilateral vertebral artery injuries. The subjects were cervical spine injury patients receiving posterior spinal fixation with bilateral vertebral artery injuries at our hospital. There were five cases, and all involved C5-7 spine injury and were treated with posterior cervical spine fixation. The grade of vertebral artery injury was bilateral grade IV in three cases, and grade IV combined with grade I or II in two cases. Coil embolization was performed before spinal surgery for grade IV lesions in four patients, and was not performed in one case. Only one of the four patients who underwent coil embolization had a small new cerebral infarction, but one patient who did not undergo coil embolization died five days after admission. Cervical spine injury with bilateral vertebral artery injury is considered to be an indication for aggressive endovascular treatment prior to spinal surgery.
