Cervical Transverse Mega-apophysis: A Rare Cause of Plexopathy

Ab s t r Ac t Aim: This article aims to describe the case of a 43-year-old male with a neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome caused by a C7 transverse mega-apophysis. Background: Cervical transverse mega-apophysis, transverse apophysomegaly, or elongation of the transverse vertebral process represents a variation of normal skeletal anatomy. This variation has been little studied and its prevalence in the population is unknown because it often exists without symptoms. It is estimated that less than 10% of cases are symptomatic. Case description: We present a rare case of a man with a neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (in this case, a left plexopathy) caused by a cervical transverse mega-apophysis. After surgical intervention, the patient improved and after a 1-year follow-up, he remained asymptomatic. Conclusion: Even though some authors describe cervical pain associated with this condition, we found very few data regarding plexopathy or other neurological symptoms caused by a cervical transverse apophysomegaly.