Cervicothoracic Trauma: Diagnosis and Treatment

The management of cervicothoracic trauma (C7-T1) requires a high index of suspicion for diagnosis and a thorough knowledge of the relevant anatomy for treatment. It is an area of transition, both in its biomechanical considerations and in its anatomy. Diagnosis of traumatic cervicothoracic injuries requires vigilance, since it is an anatomical region that is difficult to visualize with plain films, and there have been reports of neurological disaster stemming from delayed diagnosis of cervicothoracic injuries.1 Operative treatment of cervicothoracic injuries involves thorough planning, as the difficulties in operative treatment of disorders in this region have been well described.2