Traumatic Cervical Vertical Translational Injury: A Case Report

Abstract

Traumatic cervical translational injury is a notably rare and highly unstable subtype of type C sub-axial cervical spine injury with high morbidity and mortality rates. Hereby, we report a 41-years-old man who was a case of multiple trauma due to car rollover. He was completely conscious, complaining of cervical pain, with a GCS score of 15/15. His neurological examination was unremarkable. The cervical CT scan revealed a vertical translation at the C6-C7 level (roughly 11 mm) and bilateral facet joint diastases which are highly unstable injuries. A two-stage combined anterior and posterior fixation operation was performed. First, an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with autologous graft and plate fixation, and then a posterior approach with lateral mass screw fixation was performed. Disruption of the anterior longitudinal ligament, annulus fibrosis, facet capsules, and severe strain of ligamentum flavum was noted intraoperatively. He had no early and late complications within 2 years of follow-up.

Keywords

• cervical spine
• cervical trauma
• translational injury