Pneumomediastinum From Vacuum Disc and Vertebral Trauma

We present a case of pneumomediastinum associated with an endplate fracture adjacent to a vacuum disc. Pneumomediastinum from trauma can be due to damage to the lungs, airway, or esophagus. In this case, we present a unique complication of the vacuum disc phenomenon in which vertebral injury at the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCurēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 13; no. 8
Main Authors Ravago, Mark A, Maldjian, Pierre D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Palo Alto (CA) Cureus 06.08.2021
Subjects
Radiology
Trauma
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Summary:We present a case of pneumomediastinum associated with an endplate fracture adjacent to a vacuum disc. Pneumomediastinum from trauma can be due to damage to the lungs, airway, or esophagus. In this case, we present a unique complication of the vacuum disc phenomenon in which vertebral injury at the site of a vacuum disc releases gas bubbles into the mediastinum. We believe that compressive forces from the trauma produced a disruption of the annulus fibrosis and forced gas previously sequestered in the intervertebral disc space to escape into the mediastinum.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.16942