Brook’s Wiring for Treatment of an Atlanto-Axial Dislocation and Odontoid Fracture in a Child

Cervical spine injuries are rarely seen in children with an overall incidence of about 1-1.5% [1,2]. In pediatric cervical spine injury, the upper cervical spine is the most common site affected (52% of cases) [2]. The typical injury mechanisms for pediatric cervical spine injuries are hyper flexion movements as in motor vehicle accidents, because of distinct anatomic properties of a child’s body, like an increased head-to-body ratio [3,4]. We here report the case of a 5-year-old boy, who sustained a severe hyperflexion trauma of the cervical spine in a high-speed car accident (approx. 60 mph). Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a complete atlanto-axial dislocation with synchondrotic fracture of the odontoid process.