Symptomatic C1-2 fusion failure due to a fracture of the lateral C-1 posterior arch in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. Case report and review of the literature.
The authors report a case in which the lateral C-1 arch fractured in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and an intact fusion mass; this patient had previously undergone a C1-2 Brooks-type fusion. This unique complication occurred secondary to continued resorption of the C1-2 rheumatoid pannus. Two years after occipitocervical fusion the patient has made a complete neurological recovery.
Ecker
R D
RD
Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. ecker.robert@mayo.edu
Dekutoski
M B
MB
Ebersold
M J
MJ
D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D001268:Atlanto-Axial Joint; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D009984:Orthopedic Fixation Devices; D011859:Radiography; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D017211:Treatment Failure