title: Delayed presentation and conservative management of an odontoid basilar synchondrosis fracture in a child. Case report.
abstract: The authors report the case of a 3-year-old boy who presented with neck pain after falling from a low height and who was discharged from the emergency department after imaging studies were noted to be normal. He presented again 2 months later with continued neck pain, and repeated imaging demonstrated a fracture of the odontoid basilar synchondrosis that had not been shown on the initial studies. Based on the normal alignment of his spine and evidence of early bone fusion at the time of his second presentation, he underwent cervical orthosis therapy only. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of an odontoid synchondrosis fracture in which computed tomography scans were normal at presentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Miami Children's Hospital, Miami, Florida 33155, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pacheco-Jacome
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Sandberg
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009809:Odontoid Process / Q000293:injuries*; D010012:Osteogenesis; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed