ABSTRACT
Pediatric seat-belt fracture is a rare condition, and its management has not been well defined. The authors report a case of pediatric Chance fracture that was managed conservatively and that demonstrated rapid bone healing. A 7-year-old boy presented with back pain after a motor vehicle accident. Plain lumbar spine radiography, three-dimensional computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a seat-belt fracture type C (classified by Rumball and Jarvis), and the patient's condition was managed conservatively. The patient started to ambulate with a brace 2 weeks after the injury. Spine CT performed 100 days after the injury revealed a remodeled fracture, and dynamic radiography did not show any evidence of instability or kyphotic deformity. We suggest that if there are no neurological deficits or severe deformities, then a pediatric seat-belt fracture should be managed conservatively, because the bone healing process is far more rapid in children than it is in adults and because of possible growth problems after surgery.
Subject(s)
Adult , Child , Humans , Male , Back Pain , Braces , Congenital Abnormalities , Fracture Healing , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Motor Vehicles , Radiography , SpineABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: A case report. OBJECTIVES: To report and discuss an extremely uncommon cause of lumbar plexopathy seat belt injury. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: For patients who undergo traffic accidents, most cases of seat belt injury cause trauma to the lower torso. Seat belt injury is associated with variable clinical problems such as vascular injury, intestinal injury (perforation), vertebral injury (flexion-distraction injury), chest wall injury, diaphragmatic rupture/hernia, bladder rupture, lumbosacral plexopathy, and other related conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 38-year-old male truck driver (traffic accident victim) who suffered monoplegia of his right leg due to lumbar plexus injury without spinal column involvement. Injury to a lumbar plexus and the internal vasculatures originated from direct compression to internal abdominal organs (the iliopsoas muscle and internal vasculatures anterior to the lumbar vertebrae) caused by the seat belt. We have illustrated an extremely uncommon cause of a neurologic deficit from a traffic accident through this case. RESULTS: Under the impression of traumatic lumbar plexopathy, we managed it conservatively, and the patient showed signs of recovery from neurologic deficit. CONCLUSIONS: We need to review the lumbar plexus pathway, in patients with atypical motor weakness and sensory loss of the lower extremities which are not unaccompanied by demonstrable spinal lesions. Therefore, close history taking, physical examination and comprehension of injury mechanism are important in the diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Male , Accidents, Traffic , Comprehension , Diagnosis , Hemiplegia , Leg , Lower Extremity , Lumbosacral Plexus , Motor Vehicles , Neurologic Manifestations , Physical Examination , Rupture , Seat Belts , Spine , Thoracic Wall , Torso , Urinary Bladder , Vascular System InjuriesABSTRACT
Bipolar clavicular dislocation is simultaneous dislocation of both poles of the clavicle (mainly an anterior dislocation of the sternoclavicular joint and a posterior dislocation of acromioclavicular joint) and rarely reported. We report a case of bipolar claviclular dislocation after a seat belt injury and describe its presumed mechanism and treatment with a review of literature.