Surgical treatment of traumatic spinal injuries with cord damage. Clinical review of 12 years of experience with the Roy-Camille technique.

The authors critically review 135 cases of traumatic injuries of the spine with cord damage (75 cervical, 60 thoracolumbar) treated by posterior osteosynthesis using the Roy-Camille technique at the authors' institution from 1978 to 1989. The follow-up ranged from 6 months to 12 years. In addition to fracture and/or dislocation, most patients had severe spinal cord injury resulting in either complete or incomplete paraplegia or quadriplegia. The authors describe the surgical indications, the advantages, and the long-term results of this technique.