title: Unilateral hyperplasia of the left posterior arch and associated vertebral schisis at C6 level.
abstract: We report on a 5-year-old girl with unilateral hyperplasia of the left posterior arch of C6 associated with spina bifida occulta at the same level. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the cervical spine showed hypertrophy of the left lamina as well as overgrowth and elongation of the left spinous process of the sixth cervical vertebra. Computed tomography (CT) examination better depicted this congenital variant and clearly showed the associated schisis of the posterior arch at the same level. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination ruled out other spinal anomalies. The neck pain, the young age of the patient and the local aesthetic abnormality contributed to the surgical indication. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in the English literature of unilateral hyperplasia of a posterior cervical arch. Only one previous study has reported a similar congenital anomaly, but it was limited to the left side of the spinous process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Catholic University, School of Medicine, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Bonis
authors.forename: Gianpiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tamburrini
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Massimi
authors.forename: Vadim
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Byvaltsev
authors.forename: Concezio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: di Rocco
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011859:Radiography