Melorheostosis of the cervical and cervicothoracic spine: review of the literature and presentation of 3 new cases.

Melorheostosis is a rare dysplastic bone disease that usually affects long bones at the upper or lower limbs. It is rarely seen at the spine and very rarely located at the cervical spine. To the best of our knowledge, there are currently 6 cases of melorheostosis described at the cervical spine. Here, we give an overview of the current literature of spinal melorheostosis with respect to number of cases and skeletal distribution, aetiology, radiographic appearance, symptoms and treatment. Finally, we describe 3 new clinical cases with manifestation of melorheostosis at the cervical spine and the cervicothoracic junction.