Rotary C1-C2 dislocation: A case report

The atloid-axoid rotatory slipped disc is a rare pathology with still uncertain etiology. Many situations can he factors of this disease. We report a case in a child who was admitted to the hospital for a stiff neck that had been evolving for 1 month. The clinical examination found an irreducible angular deformity of the neck and multiple cervical adenopathies. The ORL examination was normal, the biological tests showed no disorders, and the X-ray examinations were also normal. Unexpected admission features were also disconcerting. The child suddenly presented a stiff neck on waking 2 clays after a traditional circumcision at home, which might have been traumatizing. The mother also reported fever a few clays before, attributed to rhinopharyngitis. Before his referral to the Rabat Children's Hospital, the child had received an anti-inflammatory treatment without any improvement. He had also been considered to have an opisthotonos on admission and was treated for suspected tetanus. Finally, the rotatory dislocation of C1-C2 was suggested, and a cervico-occipital junction scanner with three-dimensional reconstructions confirmed the diagnosis. The child was treated with cranial traction with good progression. This case opens the discussion of this rare disease, often unrecognized, which requires a. multidisciplinary approach. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.