Os odontoideum associated with hypertrophic ossiculum terminale

2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Sakaida ◽  
Shiro Waga ◽  
Tadashi Kojima ◽  
Yoshichika Kubo ◽  
Shigehiko Niwa ◽  
...  

✓ The authors report on the case of a 20-year-old man who presented with a transient tetraparesis. Neuroimaging studies demonstrated atlantoaxial dislocation and ventral compression of the rostral spinal cord caused by a quite rare association of os odontoideum and hypertrophic ossiculum terminale. The patient underwent removal of two free ossicula via a transoral approach and posterior fusion in which an autogenous bone graft was placed. The majority of cases of os odontoideum are believed to be an acquired form; however, controversy with regard to the congenital causes of os odontoideum remains. One hypothesis is that os odontoideum results from the failure of fusion and the hypertrophy of the proatlas, although considerable confusion surrounds this hypothesis because definitive classification of os odontoideum—to differentiate between similar anomalies—has not been established. This rare coincidence in the current case supports the belief that os odontoideum has a different embryological origin from ossiculum terminale, which is thought to be a proatlantal remnant.

1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curtis A. Dickman ◽  
Volker K. H. Sonntag

✓ Sixteen patients referred for atlantoaxial fixation failures were treated surgically with revision procedures during the past decade. Of these 16 patients, atlantoaxial instability occurred because of rheumatoid arthritis in five, os odontoideum in seven, transverse ligament disruption in two, and odontoid fracture nonunion in two. The 16 individuals (10 men, six women; mean age 43.7 years; age range 20–77 years) had undergone a total of 20 C1–2 internal fixation procedures that failed. Surgical strategies for definitive revision of the nonunions in these 16 subjects included 10 rigid internal fixations with transarticular screws, three revised C1–2 fixations with autogenous bone struts and wire or cables, and three extended fixations with occipitocervical instrumentation. Autogenous grafts were used in all revisions. A postoperative halo brace was used in five individuals with osteoporotic bone; all patients wore a restrictive postoperative cervical orthosis. Postoperatively, 15 patients (94%) had a stable construct (mean follow up 35 months; range 12–79 months), which included 13 osseous unions and two stable fibrous unions. One patient had nonunion; he fractured his anterior C1–2 transarticular screws 2 years postoperatively. He had occipital radicular pain without myelopathy but refused further surgery. Atlantoaxial pseudarthroses were effectively treated by addressing the pathological, biomechanical, and technical reasons for failed fusion. Successful fusion after reoperation was improved by using autologous bone grafts, adequately controlling atlantoaxial motion (with rigid transarticular screws internally or externally with a halo vest), compressing the bone grafts between the arches of C-1 and C-2 with wire cables, meticulously preparing the fusion bed, and by optimizing the pharmacological and clinical parameters to promote bone healing.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuf Ersşahin ◽  
Saffet Mutluer ◽  
Sevgül Kocaman ◽  
Eren Demirtasş

Object. The authors reviewed and analyzed information on 74 patients with split spinal cord malformations (SSCMs) treated between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1996 at their institution with the aim of defining and classifying the malformations according to the method of Pang, et al. Methods. Computerized tomography myelography was superior to other radiological tools in defining the type of SSCM. There were 46 girls (62%) and 28 boys (38%) ranging in age from less than 1 day to 12 years (mean 33.08 months). The mean age (43.2 months) of the patients who exhibited neurological deficits and orthopedic deformities was significantly older than those (8.2 months) without deficits (p = 0.003). Fifty-two patients had a single Type I and 18 patients a single Type II SSCM; four patients had composite SSCMs. Sixty-two patients had at least one associated spinal lesion that could lead to spinal cord tethering. After surgery, the majority of the patients remained stable and clinical improvement was observed in 18 patients. Conclusions. The classification of SSCMs proposed by Pang, et al., will eliminate the current chaos in terminology. In all SSCMs, either a rigid or a fibrous septum was found to transfix the spinal cord. There was at least one unrelated lesion that caused tethering of the spinal cord in 85% of the patients. The risk of neurological deficits resulting from SSCMs increases with the age of the patient; therefore, all patients should be surgically treated when diagnosed, especially before the development of orthopedic and neurological manifestations.


2000 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas L. Brockmeyer ◽  
Julie E. York ◽  
Ronald I. Apfelbaum

Object. Craniovertebral instability is a challenging problem in pediatric spinal surgery. Recently, C1–2 transarticular screw fixation has been used to assist in craniovertebral joint stabilization in pediatric patients. Currently there are no available data that define the anatomical suitability of this technique in the pediatric population. The authors report their experience in treating 31 pediatric patients with craniovertebral instability by using C1–2 transarticular screws. Methods. From March 1992 to October 1998, 31 patients who were 16 years of age or younger with atlantooccipital or atlantoaxial instability, or both, were evaluated at our institution. There were 21 boys and 10 girls. Their ages ranged from 4 to 16 years (mean age 10.2 years). The most common causes of instability were os odontoideum (12 patients) and ligamentous laxity (eight patients). Six patients had undergone a total of nine previous attempts at posterior fusion while at outside institutions. All patients underwent extensive preoperative radiological evaluation including fine-slice (1-mm) computerized tomography scanning with multiplanar reconstruction to evaluate the anatomy of the C1–2 joint space. Preoperatively, of the 62 possible C1–2 joint spaces in 31 patients, 55 sides (89%) were considered suitable for transarticular screw placement. In three patients the anatomy was considered unsuitable for bilateral screw placement. In three patients the anatomy was considered inadequate on one side. Fifty-five C1–2 transarticular screws were subsequently placed, and there were no neurological or vascular complications. Conclusions. The authors conclude that C1–2 transarticular screw fixation is technically possible in a large proportion of pediatric patients with craniovertebral instability.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne M. Gluf ◽  
Douglas L. Brockmeyer

Object. In this, the second of two articles regarding C1–2 transarticular screw fixation, the authors discuss their surgical experience in treating patients 16 years of age and younger, detailing the rate of fusion, complication avoidance, and lessons learned in the pediatric population. Methods. The authors retrospectively reviewed 67 consecutive patients (23 girls and 44 boys) younger than 16 years of age in whom at least one C1–2 transarticular screw fixation procedure was performed. A total of 127 transarticular screws were placed in these 67 patients whose mean age at time of surgery was 9 years (range 1.7–16 years). The indications for surgery were trauma in 24 patients, os odontoideum in 22 patients, and congenital anomaly in 17 patients. Forty-four patients underwent atlantoaxial fusion and 23 patients underwent occipitocervical fusion. Two of the 67 patients underwent halo therapy postoperatively. All patients were followed for a minimum of 3 months. In all 67 patients successful fusion was achieved.Complications occurred in seven patients (10.4%), including two vertebral artery injuries. Conclusions. The use of C1–2 transarticular screw fixation, combined with appropriate atlantoaxial and craniovertebral bone/graft constructs, resulted in a 100% fusion rate in a large consecutive series of pediatric patients. The risks of C1–2 transarticular screw fixation can be minimized in this population by undertaking careful patient selection and meticulous preoperative planning.


1990 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 788-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Breeze ◽  
Peter Nichols ◽  
Hervey Segal ◽  
Michael L. J. Apuzzo

✓ A case of an intradural epithelial cyst at the craniovertebral junction is reported in a 37-year-old man. The classification of these rare lesions is discussed.


1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Sukoff ◽  
Milton M. Kadin ◽  
Terrance Moran

✓ A case of rheumatoid cervical myelopathy that responded to posterior decompression and fusion is presented. Progression of the disease ultimately required anterior decompression through a transoral approach.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiki Ikeda ◽  
Hiroki Kurita ◽  
Yoshifumi Konishi ◽  
Mitsuyuki Fujitsuka ◽  
Ken Hino ◽  
...  

✓ Formation of a new saccular aneurysm after successful treatment of ruptured aneurysm has recently raised significant clinical concerns; however, de novo formation and rupture of a dissecting aneurysm has not been discussed. The authors report on a 42-year-old man who initially sought treatment for a ruptured saccular aneurysm of the right middle cerebral artery, which was successfully eliminated by surgical clipping of the aneurysm neck. Two years later, the patient presented with another subarachnoid hemorrhage and was found to have a dissecting aneurysm of the right vertebral artery, which arose from a previously angiographically documented normal artery. This rare association sheds light on the causes and growth of two distinct types of aneurysms, both clinically and pathologically.


2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 946-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre C. Carpentier ◽  
R. Todd Constable ◽  
Michael J. Schlosser ◽  
Alain de Lotbinière ◽  
Joseph M. Piepmeier ◽  
...  

Object. Functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging of the motor cortex is a potentially powerful tool in the preoperative planning of surgical procedures in and around the rolandic region. Little is known about the patterns of fMR imaging activation associated with various pathological lesions in that region or their relation to motor skills before surgical intervention. Methods. Twenty-two control volunteers and 44 patients whose pathologies included arteriovenous malformations (AVMs; 16 patients), congenital cortical abnormalities (11 patients), and tumors (17 patients) were studied using fMR imaging and a hand motor task paradigm. Activation maps were constructed for each participant, and changes in position or amplitude of the motor activation on the lesion side were compared with the activation pattern obtained in the contralateral hemisphere. A classification scheme of plasticity (Grades 1–6) based on interhemispheric pixel asymmetry and displacement of activation was used to compare maps between patients, and relative to hand motor dexterity and/or weakness. There was 89.4% interobserver agreement on classification of patterns of fMR imaging activation. Displacement of activation by mass effect was more likely with tumors. Cortical malformations offer a much higher functional reorganization than AVMs or tumors. High-grade plasticity is recruited to compensate for severe motor impairment. Conclusions. Pattern modification of fMR imaging activation can be systematized in a classification of motor cortex plasticity. This classification has shown good correlation among grading, brain lesions, and motor skills. This proposal of a classification scheme, in addition to facilitating data collection and processing from different institutions, is well suited for comparing risks associated with surgical intervention and patterns of functional recovery in relation to preoperative fMR imaging categorization. Such studies are underway at the authors' institution.


1975 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 757-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Mosso ◽  
M. Anthony Verity

✓ A case with extramedullary ependymal cyst of the spinal cord is presented. The clinical, operative, and pathological findings are discussed and a review of previous cases and a nosologic classification of ependymal lined cysts given.


2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Nakamura ◽  
Yoshiki Yamano ◽  
Masahiko Seki ◽  
Sadahiko Konishi

✓ For lesions involving the anterior and/or middle column of the spine, an anterior approach is adequate for curetting the lesion and restoring spinal stability. Materials such as autogenous bone grafts, cages with bone chips, some artificial materials, or allografts are used as strut materials. Rib material is usually removed when the anterior approach is conducted for thoracic or thoracolumbar lesions. A rib itself is not rigid enough to support the load, and a bone union is not easily obtained. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method of grafting vascularized rib in folded form to fill the defects left after removal of a spinal lesion. The rib, with the artery and vein at two levels cranial to the involved vertebral body, was isolated from surrounding tissues such as the intercostal nerve, muscles, and pleura. After curetting the lesion, the rib was folded into three or four pieces to a length adequate to fill the defect and inserted as a pedicled vascularized graft. A total of 23 cases, including 14 men and nine women, underwent surgery in which this grafting technique was used. The pathological conditions requiring anterior decompression and fusion were spinal trauma in nine cases, spinal infection in six cases, osteoporotic fracture in seven cases, and spinal metastasis in one case. In all cases a solid bone union was obtained and all infections resolved. With vascularized rib graft folded into three to four pieces, solid bone union can be obtained without use of any other grafted materials even in cases of infection and osteoporosis.


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