A rare case of spinal injury: bilateral facet dislocation without fracture at the lumbosacral joint

Lumbosacral dislocations are rare disorders; since they were first reported by Watson-Jones [1], only 100 cases have appeared in the literature [2]. A traumatic bilateral lumbosacral dislocation is even rarer, with a mere 10 cases reported [3]. Because of its low incidence and atypical location, the lesion may often go unnoticed on initial clinical assessment [4]. Surgical treatment modalities are not defined, but open reduction and internal fixation are often necessary because of a three-column involvement [5]. In this paper, we report on an initially misdiagnosed case of lumbosacral dislocation treated with open reduction and internal fixation.