Here is an example of another cervical spine case: MRI and CT scans show a 54 year-old male who had a cervical fracture dislocation at C5-6 after diving forward into shallow water and striking his head. He was fortunate not to be paralyzed. The patient also had chronic conditions in his cervical spine that put him at even higher risk. He had severe cervical stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal canal. He also had a somewhat rare condition called OPLL or ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.
Surgery was be performed to take the pressure off the spinal cord and then realign his spine and stabilize it with both an anterior plate and screws and posterior screws and rods. The final x-ray as a postoperative picture. He did well after surgery and made a complete recovery with a return to normal activities.
