Abstract
Purpose
Hemivertebrae, associated with a failure in the formation and fusion of vertebral body ossification nuclei, are a common cause of thoracic or lumbar scoliosis. A cervical location is rare and even rarer as a cause of cervical subluxation in flexion and extension (for which only one previous case has been found).
Case report
We report on the case of a 7-year-old female patient, who was examined for a cervical fusion defect, consisting of a posterior C4 hemivertebra and a left hemiblock from C5 to C7. After performing surgery consisting of a C4 corpectomy and anterior fixation with intersomatic graft and plate, adequate cervical stabilization with only a self-limiting left C6 brachialgia and ipsilateral Horner syndrome occurs in the postoperative period.
Conclusion
Posterior cervical hemivertebra associated with instability is a very rare finding. The anterior approach with corpectomy and anterior plate enables suitable stabilization.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berk ME, Tabatznik B (1961) Cervical kyphosis from posterior hemivertebrae with brachyphalangy and congenital optic atrophy. J Bone Joint Surg 43:77–86
Cave P (1958) Butterfly vertebra. Br J Radiol 31:503–506
Cohen J, Currarino G, Neuhauser EBD (1956) A significant variant in the ossification centers of the vertebral bodies. Am J Roentgen 76:469–475
Dias MS (2007) Normal and abnormal development of the spine. Neurosurg Clin N Am 18:415–429
Deburge A, Briard JL (1981) Cervical hemivertebra excision: report of a case. J Bone Joint Surg 63:1335–1339
Giménez CD, Manzone P, Forlino D, et al (2003) Hemi-atlas: presentación de cinco casos. Neurocirugia (Astur) 14:222–227
Klimo P, Rao G, Brockmeyer D (2007) Congenital anomalies of the cervical spine. Neurosurg Clin N Am 18:463–478
Kumakura A, Tkahora T, Asada J, et al (2008) Split notochord syndrome with congenital unilateral Horner’s sign. Ped Neurol 38:47–49
Moghaddam AMG, Tanriöver N, Ulu MO, et al (2008) Cervical intradural lipoma with associated hemivertebra formation at C6 level: a case report. Turk Neurosurg 18:187–190
Rowley KA (1955) Coronal cleft vertebra. J Facult Radiol 6:267–274
Ruf M, Jensen R, Harms J (2005) Hemivertebra resection in the cervical spine. Spine 30:380–385
Youl BD, Coutellier A, Dubois B, et al (1990) Three cases of spontaneous extracranial vertebral artery dissection. Stroke 21:618–625
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Otero-López, R., Rivero-Garvía, M., Márquez-Rivas, J. et al. Cervical subluxation associated with posterior cervical hemivertebra. Childs Nerv Syst 32, 387–390 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-015-2833-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-015-2833-0