title: C2/3 instability: unusual cause of cervical myelopathy in a child with Down syndrome.
abstract: We report a rare cause of cervical myelopathy (CM) in a 10-year-old Down syndrome (DS) girl. She presented with progressive CM over 1 year affecting her ability to ambulate or feed herself. The myelopathy was secondary to C2/3 instability. Surgical reduction and instrumented fusion have significantly improved her neurological status. This case emphasizes the importance of close follow-up of DS patients for early diagnosis and treatment of cervical spine abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 59220, Riyadh, 11525, Saudi Arabia. amro.alhabib@gmail.com
authors.forename: Amro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Habib
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: AlAqeel
mesh_terms: D001268:Atlanto-Axial Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed