title: Surgical Management of Odontoid Fracture in Elderly.
abstract: Odontoid type II fractures are associated with high mortality in the elderly. No formal guidelines are present regarding the treatment of such fractures. Their management can be done either conservatively or surgically, however, surgical treatment is technically demanding and relatively new. We report a case of 75 years old man who presented to our clinical setting, following a history of fall. The CT scan and MRI showed odontoid type II fracture. With time, the neurological deficit got marked and he underwent transoral odontoidectomy and occipitocervical fixation using rods and screws via posterior approach. Patient's neurological condition improved dramatically and on the short term follow up, he had no motor deficit. Our experience suggests that occipitocervical fixation via posterior approach is a viable option for the management of odontoid type II fracture in the geriatric population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Shifa International Hospital and Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nadeem
authors.affiliation: Medical student, Shifa International Hospital and Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Jawad
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Noon
authors.affiliation: Medical student, Shifa International Hospital and Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Rana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Shifa International Hospital and Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Inayatullah
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D001368:Axis, Cervical Vertebra / Q000601:surgery; D001863:Bone Screws; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009809:Odontoid Process / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: aged; odontoid process; spinal fractures.