Occipital condyle fracture associated with Jefferson's fracture and injury of lower cranial nerves: case report

• Published in: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria Vol. 60; no. 4; pp. 1038 - 1041
• Main Authors: Falavigna, Asdrubal, da Silva, Fabrício Molon, Hennemann, Alessandra Souto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese; English
• Published: Brazil 01.12.2002
• Subjects: Cervical Vertebrae - diagnostic imaging; Cervical Vertebrae - injuries; Cranial Nerve Injuries - etiology; Cranial Nerve Injuries - therapy; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Occipital Bone - diagnostic imaging; Occipital Bone - injuries; Paralysis - etiology; Paralysis - therapy; Radiography; Skull Fractures - diagnostic imaging; Skull Fractures - therapy; Spinal Fractures - diagnostic imaging; Spinal Fractures - therapy; Tongue Diseases - etiology; Tongue Diseases - therapy
• ISSN: 0004-282X
• DOI: 10.1590/S0004-282X2002000600030

Occipital condyle fracture(OCF) is rarely seen and can be missed during medical evaluation due to the variety of clinical presentations and the difficulty to be visualized radiographically. This fracture can be associated with cranial nerves injuries (31%), being the hipoglossal nerve the most frequently involved (67%). We report a 58 years old female patient who presented with OCF, injury of lower cranial nerves and Jefferson's fracture. The patient was treated with cervical traction for six weeks followed by halo immobilization for three months. There was bone consolidation recovery of the nervous injury after this period. This report emphazises the importance of investigating the skull-cervical transition in all patients with cervical trauma. Although Jefferson's fracture is rarely associated with OCF, it should be remembered and treated appropriately when diagnosed.