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A single fracture in the ring of vertebrae below the atlas: report of four cases

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Abstract

A single fracture of the ring of a vertebra is a rare injury of the spine. In this report, we present five single fractures of the posterior ring of the cervical spine below the atlas from four patients after motor vehicle accidents. Initial radiographs failed to show any of these fractures; all were detected by computed tomography. Single ring fractures are stable and none of our patients presented with a neurological deficit. Patients were treated conservatively with a cervical collar or a cervicothoracic brace. They all recovered without any neurological abnormalities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Tsutomu Inaoka, Kenjirou Ohashi & Georges Y. El-Khoury

Authors
  1. Tsutomu Inaoka
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  2. Kenjirou Ohashi
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  3. Georges Y. El-Khoury
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Correspondence to Tsutomu Inaoka.

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Inaoka, T., Ohashi, K. & El-Khoury, G.Y. A single fracture in the ring of vertebrae below the atlas: report of four cases. Emerg Radiol 14, 449–452 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-007-0614-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-007-0614-0

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