Post-traumatic c7-t1 spondyloptosis in a patient without neurological deficit: a case report

Abstract

Traumatic cervical spondyloptosis has almost always been associated with disabling neurological deficit and we could only find one case without a neurological deficit reported in the literature. A 42 year old man suffering from severe neck pain following a high speed motor vehicle accident was admitted to our hospital. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) of the cervical spine and neurologic examination of the patient were performed. The patient was treated with three-column fixation of the traumatic level. We aimed to report a unique case of traumatic C7-T1 total spondyloptosis without a neurological deficit and discuss possible mechanisms and treatment modalities.