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Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of surgery for odontoid fractures and to study surgical mortality, surgical morbidity and long-term outcome in a large, contemporary, consecutive, single institution, surgical series of odontoid fractures. Methods: This is a retrospective study of all odontoid fractures treated by open surgery at our hospital during 2002–2009....

Fractures of the odontoid process are the most common cervical spine injuries in the elderly, and of these, type II fractures are the most frequent [1,2]. In this patient population, these fractures commonly occur with low-energy injury mechanisms, including falls from a standing height. With this mechanism, some restraints to displacement, such as those provided by the ligamentous structures, ...

Synovial cysts of the cervical spine are extremely rare. We describe an 8-year-old boy with atlantoaxial subluxation and hypoplasia of the dens. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a round lesion, posterior to the odontoid process. This mass was characterized by a low signal intensity on T1-weighted images, and high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. The retrodental synovial cyst disappeared...

It is a well-know fact that type 2 odontoid fractures frequently go into nonunion. If left untreated, patients may develop irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD). We describe the surgical management of two patients with neglected odontoid fractures and irreducible AAD treated with single stage anterior release followed by posterior instrumented fusion. Both patients presented with history o...

INTRODUCTION: Controversy exists as to the most effective management option for elderly patients with type II odontoid fractures. Furthermore, outcomes for those patients who do not achieve fusion or fracture healing after treatment remain unclear in the literature. The purpose of this study is to evaluate fracture healing rates, functional outcomes, complications, and mortality associated with...

Congenital absence of the anterior arch of the atlas is incredibly rare with only two cases reported previously in the literature. We present a third case of a medically fit patient who suffered neck trauma with an abnormal odontoid peg x-ray, which subsequently demonstrated a congenital non-fusion of the anterior vertebral arch of C1 on computed tomography. This case highlights the need to ha...