Chip fracture through the superior articular facet with compressive cervical radiculopathy.
Four patients with cervical radiculopathy secondary to a chip fracture through the superior articular facet have been treated in the past 2 years. These small-element fractures may occasionally pass unrecognized. Although oblique X-rays are helpful, lateral tomography has provided the most precise detail. The pathological process is a compressive radiculopathy, explicable on the basis of the foraminal anatomy. The authors feel myelography is not essential. The preferred surgical approach is posterior: the results have been excellent.
D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009192:Myelography; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging