title: Occult ligamentous injury of the cervical spine associated with cervical spine fracture.
abstract: We report the case of a 20-year-old patient with a C5 cervical spine fracture and an undetected ligamentous lesion between C1 and C2. Cervical spine lesion protocols and the rates of lesions that are not diagnosed with standard evaluation protocols are reviewed, with particular emphasis on comatose patients. Dynamic studies during the surgical procedure for fixation of the fracture are recommended to increase the detection of ligamentous lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. roberto6jas@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seijas
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ares
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casamitjana
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome