Cervical Spine Traction With Gardner-Wells Tongs

Cervical spine traction is accomplished with placement of calipers or tongs to the skull and attachment to a pulley system secured to a bed.

Although a wide variety of tongs exist, Gardner-Wells tongs are the most frequently used and the most frequently available. Gardner-Wells tongs consist of a hoop attached to two 30-degree angled pins.

Subaxial cervical fractures that are misaligned

Subaxial cervical facet dislocations

Selected odontoid fractures, hangman’s fractures, and C1-C2 rotatory subluxation