MRI of cervical facet dislocation

Abstract

The MRI examinations of eight patients with cervical vertebral dislocation demonstrated by conventional radiography were reviewed. All patients had axial and sagittal T 1- and T 2-weighted imaging on a 1.5-T unit. This revealed unilateral partial facet dislocation (in two patients), bilateral partial facet dislocation (in two), unilateral complete dislocation (in two) and bilateral complete facet dislocation (in two). In six patients there was cord contusion, three had focal disc protrusions and four unilateral absence of normal flow void in one of the cervical vertebral arteries. In all cases, the dislocated facets were shown well on the far-lateral sagittal images.