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Posttraumatic subacute ascending myelopathy in a 24-year-old male patient

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Abstract

Posttraumatic subacute ascending myelopathy is a rare late complication of spinal trauma. We present a case of 24-year-old male patient of motor vehicle accident who initially presented with T12 vertebral fracture and associated cord compression and signal changes in lower dorsal cord causing paraplegia with bladder and bowel involvement. In the subsequent week, he developed complete paraplegia with cord signal abnormality on magnetic resonance imaging extending cephalad from the injury site to involve the cervicomedullary junction. The patient clinically and radiologically improved over 6 weeks on steroid treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Atin Kumar, Monika Garg & Shivanand Gamanagatti

  2. Department of Radiology, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated hospitals, 175, Minakshi Garden, P.O. Tilak Nagar, New Delhi, 110018, India

    Jyoti Kumar

  3. Department of Orthopedics, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Kamran Farooque & Vijay Sharma

Authors
  1. Atin Kumar
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  2. Jyoti Kumar
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  3. Monika Garg
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  4. Kamran Farooque
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  5. Shivanand Gamanagatti
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  6. Vijay Sharma
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Correspondence to Jyoti Kumar.

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Kumar, A., Kumar, J., Garg, M. et al. Posttraumatic subacute ascending myelopathy in a 24-year-old male patient. Emerg Radiol 17, 249–252 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-009-0832-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-009-0832-8

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