Tratamento das fraturas do processo odontóide

objective: this article describes a clinical and radiologic retrospective analysis of odontoid fractures in20 patients accompanied bythe iot-hcfmusp,from 2004 to 2010. methods: these fractures were stratified according to their classification (ao/anderson andd'alonzo), epidemiologic profile, type of treatment, time to consolidation of the fracture, and complications. results: it was observed that there was a higher number of odontoid fractures in males (4:1), between the third and fourth decades of life (60%), and that the main causes of the trauma were falling from heights (60%) and car accidents (25%). also, 15% of the cases presented neurological deficits. the most prevalent type of odontoid fracture was type ii (55%) followed by type iii (40%). the most prevalent type of treatment used for type ii and iii fractures was surgical (73%) and non-surgical (87.5%), respectively. consolidation of the fracture took place within 16 weeks in 87.5% of surgically treated cases, and in 54.5% of those treated non-surgically. no cases of pseudoarthrosis were found. conclusion: the surgical treatment of type ii odontoid fractures showed satisfactory results in relation totime to consolidation of the fracture and low incidence of complications, as did the non-surgical treatment used for the type iii fractures. level of evidence: level iv, case series.