Why it's done

If your child has a cervical spine injury or abnormality, bony structures may press the skull against the brainstem or upper part of the spinal cord.

Your child's surgeon will remove those bony structures or abnormalities to help prevent loss of nerve function, chronic pain and deformity. If there's a deformity, your surgeon will straighten the crooked cervical spine. Sometimes pediatric cervical spine surgery is done to correct instability between the bones, which may injure the spinal cord. Metal implants including rods and screws may be used to treat the cervical spine disorder.