[Complications of Forestier disease affecting the cervical vertebrae as seen from a neurosurgical point of view].

In the presence of Spondylosis hyperostotica an isolated spondylophytary ventral ossification leads to the stiffening of the vertebral column with a considerable loss of elasticity. Patients with a rarely occurring participation of the cervical vertebral column are particularly endangered by traumata. Even a trivial trauma may lead to the fracture or a spinal canal diameter in the lower normal range lead to neurological symptoms. The degree of the instability and the neurological symptoms determine the therapeutical approach. The strategy of the treatment is discussed on the basis of the example of six patients from two neurosurgical clinics.