BACKGROUND: We present the case of an elderly patient with a retro-odontoid soft tissue mass associated with atlanto-axial subluxation. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 74-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with progressive motor weakness in his right arm and neck pain. Radiological examinations revealed atlantoaxial subluxation and diffuse degenerative changes. Cervical MRI revealed a syrinx at the C1 level and a retro-odontoid soft tissue mass that severely compressed the spinal cord. The mass was of low signal intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images. Conservative therapy could not stop the progression of his symptoms, so posterior decompression via a laminectomy of C1 and occipitocervical fixation was performed. These procedures resulted in an improvement of his neurological condition and in reduction of the mass and the compression of the spinal cord. CONCLUSION: The patient lacked any specific conditions that might have caused chronic atlantoaxial subluxation. The degenerative changes alone might have provoked chronic atlantoaxial subluxation and a subsequent retro-odontoid soft tissue mass. In patients with this condition, posterior fixation without direct removal of the mass should be the first choice for surgical intervention.
BACKGROUND: We present the case of an elderly patient with a retro-odontoid soft tissue mass associated with atlanto-axial subluxation. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 74-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with progressive motor weakness in his right arm and neck pain. Radiological examinations revealed atlantoaxial subluxation and diffuse degenerative changes. Cervical MRI revealed a syrinx at the C1 level and a retro-odontoid soft tissue mass that severely compressed the spinal cord. The mass was of low signal intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images. Conservative therapy could not stop the progression of his symptoms, so posterior decompression via a laminectomy of C1 and occipitocervical fixation was performed. These procedures resulted in an improvement of his neurological condition and in reduction of the mass and the compression of the spinal cord. CONCLUSION: The patient lacked any specific conditions that might have caused chronic atlantoaxial subluxation. The degenerative changes alone might have provoked chronic atlantoaxial subluxation and a subsequent retro-odontoid soft tissue mass. In patients with this condition, posterior fixation without direct removal of the mass should be the first choice for surgical intervention.
Authors: Alfonso Lagares; Iñaki Arrese; Beatriz Pascual; Pedro A Gòmez; Ana Ramos; Ramiro D Lobato Journal: Eur Spine J Date: 2005-12-29 Impact factor: 3.134
Authors: Giuseppe M V Barbagallo; Francesco Certo; Massimiliano Visocchi; Stefano Palmucci; Giovanni Sciacca; Vincenzo Albanese Journal: Eur Spine J Date: 2013-09-19 Impact factor: 3.134
Authors: Fraser C Henderson; Robert Rosenbaum; Malini Narayanan; Myles Koby; Kelly Tuchman; Peter C Rowe; Clair Francomano Journal: Neurosurg Rev Date: 2020-07-04 Impact factor: 3.042
Authors: Sven Bamps; Gert Roosen; Eric Put; Mark Plazier; Steven Vanvolsem; Maarten Wissels; Peter Donkersloot; Wim Duyvendak Journal: Surg Neurol Int Date: 2020-05-16