Traumatic dissection of the vertebral artery: a case report.

This report concerns a patient suffering from a severe neck pain on the third day after a traffic accident. This condition was followed by a lateral medullary infarction on the next day. One week later, he was transferred to this hospital and dissection of the vertebral artery was disclosed. It should be emphasized that in case of acute cervical spine injury or severe neck pain after a major trauma, vertebral artery dissection should be considered, as its early diagnosis may have crucial therapeutic implications. In addition, the advantages of the combination of magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography as diagnostic tools-of-choice are emphasized.