Open Reduction in Traumatic Cervical Facet Dislocation Does Not Delay Time to Treatment.

Background Cervical facet dislocation is a serious injury that can result in permanent neurologic damage. Current guidelines recommend immediate closed reduction of cervical dislocations, though the efficacy of this practice remains a debate. This study aims to evaluate whether immediate open reduction and fixation of cervical dislocations offer equal or better outcomes for patients and limit the need for follow-up operations. Methods This is a retrospective study including patients who presented to the emergency department of a single institution from 2008 to 2023 with cervical facet dislocation. Patients were divided into groups based on initial treatment: either open or closed reduction. Time to surgery was calculated as the time between arrival to the ED and incision time in the OR. Primary outcomes were improvement in motor and sensory deficits at six-week post-operative follow-up. Results There were 31 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Time to treatment did not differ significantly between the open versus closed reduction groups. There were no differences between groups in improvement in motor function, sensory function, or pain at the six-week follow-up. All patients treated with initial closed reduction ultimately required surgical stabilization. Conclusions Open reduction as a first-line treatment did not increase the time to treatment for patients with cervical facet dislocations. Patients had equivalent functional outcomes in both treatment groups. The findings suggest that current practice guidelines may delay definitive treatment without improving patient safety or outcomes.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Review Board of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, USA issued approval 20231238. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
(Copyright © 2024, Yaffe et al.)