PMC4750312_01
Image findings from before the initial surgery until the completion of treatment. (a) Cervical T2-weighted sagittal images demonstrated the C5/6 intervertebral disc degeneration with local spinal cord edema before the initial surgery. (b) Progress of C6/7 disc degeneration as seen on a T2-weighted sagittal image taken 3 years after C5/6 anterior fusion. (c-e) Anterior facet dislocation (white and black arrows) and severe spinal cord edema identified on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography taken after the patient suffered trauma. (f-h) Cervical computed tomography and X-ray after C6/7 posterior fusion indicated improvement in the cervical alignment and magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the spinal cord edema exhibited marked mitigation
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F1
He suffered no postoperative neurologic symptoms and was independent in his activities of daily living [Figure 1a and b]. Emergency cervical computed tomography (CT) indicated severe anterior dislocation of C6/7, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed severe spinal cord edema [Figure 1c-e]. We performed laminectomy of C5-T1 and posterior fusion of C6/7 [Figure 1f-h]. For the posterior fusion, we inserted a lateral mass screw into the facet joint of C6 and a pedicle screw into the vertebral body of C7, paying attention to the course of the vertebral artery on both sides [Figure 1g]. Postoperative CT indicated that cervical alignment had improved, and MRI indicated that the spinal cord edema observed prior to surgery had been mitigated [Figure 1h].