{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T09:50:28Z","timestamp":1782467428649,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782432000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JPM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Dislocations and fracture-dislocations of the lower cervical spine represent complex injuries with a high risk of neurological damage. Especially in the presence of a confirmed traumatic disc lesion, an anterior surgical approach is described as favoured in the literature. However, studies show that with sufficient reduction technique, even in the presence of a confirmed disc protrusion, posterior stabilization can be considered a safe therapeutic option. The aim of this study is to analyze anterior and posterior treatment of dislocations and fracture-dislocations of the subaxial cervical spine with regard to neurological and radiological outcomes. Methods: In our monocentric cohort study, we investigated the immediate postoperative radiological and neurological outcome depending on the chosen surgical approach and the presence of a disc protrusion. Patients treated at our centre between January 2005 and June 2025 were included. Patients with preoperative complete spinal cord injury were excluded. Neurological status was assessed using the ASIA score preoperatively at admission and postoperatively at discharge or prior to staged surgery. Results: A total of 92 patients were included in the study. Most patients showed an ASIA score C (33.7%). A total of 49 patients (53.3%) were operated anteriorly and 42 patients (45.6%) posteriorly. One patient was primarily stabilized bilaterally. Nine patients initially treated anteriorly had to be secondarily stabilized additionally from posterior. In both groups, neurological deterioration occurred in one case. All other patients remained stable on the ASIA score or improved by at least one point on the scale. Conclusions: The findings provide evidence in favour of a personalized, pathology-oriented approach to lower cervical spine fracture-dislocations rather than selecting the surgical approach based solely on the presence of traumatic disc protrusion. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these observations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jpm16070348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T08:43:57Z","timestamp":1782463437000},"page":"348","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Anterior Versus Posterior Stabilization of Subaxial Cervical Spine Fracture-Dislocations, Dislocations and Subluxations: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Neurological and Radiological Outcomes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3295-8174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gorazd","family":"Kovac","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Klagenfurt am W\u00f6rthersee, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8312-6247","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ernst Josef","family":"M\u00fcller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Klagenfurt am W\u00f6rthersee, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Liebhauser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Klagenfurt am W\u00f6rthersee, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jochen","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Klagenfurt am W\u00f6rthersee, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-9325-0848","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Haro","family":"Stettner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Klagenfurt am W\u00f6rthersee, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-1880-9011","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin","family":"Halbherr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Trauma Surgery, Klinikum Klagenfurt am W\u00f6rthersee, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e427","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wneu.2017.11.011","article-title":"Traumatic Fractures of the Cervical Spine: Analysis of Changes in Incidence, Cause, Concurrent Injuries, and Complications Among 488,262 Patients from 2005 to 2013","volume":"110","author":"Passias","year":"2018","journal-title":"World Neurosurg."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"793","DOI":"10.1007\/s41669-024-00517-3","article-title":"A Systematic Review of the Impact of Spinal Cord Injury on Costs and Health-Related Quality of Life","volume":"8","author":"Diop","year":"2024","journal-title":"PharmacoEcon. 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