Posterior Fixation of a Cervical Fracture Using the RRS Loop Spine System and Polyethylene Tape in an Elderly Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient: A Case Report

ABSTRACT

An 80-year-old woman presented with neck pain and paraparesis of Frankel C in her upper and lower extremities after falling. Imaging revealed an ankylosing cervical spine and a fracture line running obliquely from the anterior C3-4 to the posterior C4-5 level. Posterior fixation from the occi pit to T3 was performed using the RRS Loop Spine System and concomitant polyethylene tape fixation. This system is characterized by the uniqueness of how it screws to the occi pit and its use of a fixation rod with a larger diameter than in other instrumentation devices for use in the cervical region. Sublaminar banding using polyethylene tape was used to secure fixation. Her postoperative course was unremarkable, and her neck pain was relieved, although neurological improvement was minor. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an application of the RRS Loop Spine System to an ankylosing spondylitis patient with a cervical fracture.