Successful Management of Traumatic Cervical Spondyloptosis with Incomplete Neurological Deficit in a Child: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND

Spondyloptosis is a condition in which one vertebral body is completely displaced over the corpus of the adjacent one. It is more common in the lumbar region of the spine, but it very rarely occurs in the cervical spine. In this study, we report a case of post-traumatic cervical spine spondyloptosis in a child.

CASE REPORT: We describe a case of a 14-year-old male, who was admitted for cervicalgia with incomplete neurological deficit as a result of falling from a tree. Computed tomography (CT) of the neck revealed a posterior C5-C6 spondyloptosis with anterior spondylolisthesis of C7-T1. Surgical intervention was performed by the anterior approach only. The patient recovered completely after 2 months.

CONCLUSION

Traumatic cervical spondyloptosis is an injury with rare occurrence with varied clinical presentations. Until now, there is no consensus concerning the most effective treatment for spondyloptosis. Satisfactory clinical and good outcomes can be obtained by anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion.