[Traumatic posterior atlantoaxial dislocation without fracture of the upper cervical spine in a female geriatric patient : Case report and literature search].

Abstract

Traumatic posterior atlantoaxial dislocation (PAAD) without detection of a fracture of the upper cervical spine is a very rare injury that usually occurs in younger patients and in most cases leads to immediate death due to distraction of the spinal cord. In contrast, the present case describes this injury in a female geriatric patient at the age of 75 years. In the literature there are also clinical case reports, where traumatic PAAD without a fracture did not result in neurological deficits and where initially existing neurological deficits were completely reversible through closed or open reduction and internal fixation.