Turkish Neurosurgery 2007 , Vol 17 , Num 2
Compressive Hyperextension Injury of C2-C3 Managed With Anterior Plate Fixation: Case Report
Fatih Ersay DENİZ1, Sedat ÇAĞLI2, Mehmet ZİLELİ3
1Gaziosmanpasa University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Tokat, Turkey
2,3Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, İzmir, Turkey
We report a C2 tear-drop fracture of a 69–year-old patient which occurred after a fall. Although tear drop fractures of the subaxial cervical spine mostly develop due to a flexion type injury, the mechanism is often compressive hyperextension injury at the C2 vertebra. Rigid external stabilization and internal fixation are the treatment alternatives. Internal fixation may be performed using the posterior or anterior approach. This paper describes a C2 tear drop fracture which was treated with an anterior plate fixation. Keywords : Cervical trauma, Tear drop fracture, Axis body fracture , Compressive hyper-extension injury
Corresponding author : Fatih Ersay Deniz, ersaymd@yahoo.com