[A surgical case of cervical canal stenosis caused by atlas hypoplasia in an elderly patient].

We report an 81-year-old man with hypoplastic atlas resulting in a severe stiff feeling in the bilateral shoulders, spastic tetraparesis, and hypesthesia below the C2 segment level of the spinal cord. These symptoms are compatible with compression of the high cervical cord. Neuroimaging studies revealed a narrowing of the spinal cord by compression of the hypoplastic atlas. Laminoplasty of the atlas was performed under general anesthesia, and the patient's symptoms were resolved. Operated cases of older patient's with atlas hypoplasia have been rarely reported. Laminoplasty of the atlas is a safe and useful procedure for high cervical compression due to hypoplastic atlas.