Cervical Fracture: Case Study 02

29 year old male involved in surfing accident. He was struck by a wave in the top of this head while diving into the water. He was quadriplegic at the scene and dragged out of the water by his family. Note that C5 is fractured and pushed into the spinal canal (Image A).


Another picture (Image B) showing not only the fracture of the C5 vertebral body, but also of the posterior elements of the spine (spinous process and lamina). 





The cross sectional views reveal the fracture of the vertebral body, facet joints, and of the lamina (Image C).

                                                             

Post operative radiographs (Image D) show the result after anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion followed by posterior fusion with instrumentation. Note the titanium mesh cage placed to replace the fractured vertebral body. The patient had near complete neurologic improvement with only mild residual upper extremity weakness and was able to walk out of the rehabilitation center.