Aims and objectives
Craniocervical instability is an uncommon condition [1] that involves a limitation in the range of motion of the occipitoatlantoaxial region.
[2]It can be caused by congenital malformations,
genetic disorders,
tumors,
postsurgical changes or trauma to the base of the skull.
[1-5] Complications vary from paralysis,
respiratory dysfunction to even life-threatening conditions.
[1,4]
There has not been a consensus on the ideal treatment of craniocervical instability,
however there are several alternatives.One option is the surgical fusion of the occipitoatlantal joint by mean of a posterior fixation...
Methods and materials
This was an observational,
cross-sectional,
retrospective and descriptive study that included 175HRCT studies obtained from the Radiology and Imaging Department database of the Hospital Universitario “Dr.
José Eleuterio González”.
Patients with a history of fractures,
tumors,
surgical interventions of the skull base,
as well as patients with cancer or other pathologies that could alter bone metabolism were excluded.
Data acquisition:All images were acquired using a 64-slice tomograph (General Electric CT99 Light Speed VCT) and Software 2978195VCT (GE Medical Systems,
Milwaukee,
WI) with a rotation of...
Results
Analyzing the age groups among themselves,
significant differences were found in all measures (Table 1) except the distal width (p=0.149) and the posterior intercondylar distance (p=0-067).
The measures do not follow any growth pattern according to age.
When analyzing all the inter-gender groups we found significant differences between men and women in all measures (Table 2),
except intercondylar angle (p=0.559),
anterior intercondylar distance (p=0.398) and parasagittal angle (p=0.630).
In most of the parameters,
greater measures were found in the group of men than in women.When...
Conclusion
The purpose of the study was to compare the morphology of the occipital condyles between age groups,
estimate the growth pattern of the condyles and determine the feasibility of surgery in the pediatric population.
In conclusion,
we found that there is a great variability in the size of the condyles,
which confirms the need of a preoperative imaging study is necessary.
Most of the women presented smaller measures compared to men which can determine the size of the screws to be used.
Although we did...
Personal information
R.
Alvarez,
MD.
Department of Radiology,
Hospital Universitario "Dr.
José E.
González".Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León.
Monterrey,
Nuevo León,
México.
e-mail:
[email protected]
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