Congenital deformation of the posterior arch of the atlas: Subluxation of the atlanto-axial joint with temporary quadriplegia.

Instabilities of the craniocervical junction can be of rheumatic, traumatic, or congenital origin. The reported patient has a congenital malformation of the cervical spine, which is frequently observed in patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome. Her posterior arch of the atlas (C1) is hypoplastic and a chronic subluxation of the atlanto-axial joint would be possible. Although most common fusions in Klippel-Feil syndrome patients exist at C2/3, the majority of studies about Klippel-Feil syndrome deal with pediatric or adolescent individuals. Through extreme flexion of her neck, there was a compression of the spinal cord by the odontoid process. This led to a quadriplegia lasting about 10 min. Over the following weeks, all of her symptoms started to diminish. This situation turned out to be the third episode involving temporary neurological disorders in this 60-year-old female's life.

Delayed onset of a spinal epidural hematoma after facet joint injection.

The treatment of chronic back pain is a challenging problem. Facet joint infiltration is an established treatment for chronic low back pain caused by arthrosis of the lumbar facet joints. Due to the increasing number of patients with chronic low back pain, this therapy has become more frequent. We treated a 51-year-old male patient, who developed an epidural hematoma 2 months after infiltration therapy. Our case shows that even a delayed onset of spinal epidural hematoma is possible and should be kept in mind as a possible cause of acute myelopathy after spinal intervention.

Sacral Emphysematous Osteomyelitis Caused by Escherichia coli after Arthroscopy of the Knee.

Emphysematous osteomyelitis is a rare but serious condition which is often associated with a fatal outcome. The typical appearances of emphysematous osteomyelitis are clusters of small gas bubbles within the medullary cavity. We report a case of a 62-year-old male who presented with emphysematous osteomyelitis due to hematogenous spread of Escherichia coli from the knee after arthroscopy.

Perforation of an Occult Carcinoma of the Prostate as a Rare Differential Diagnosis of Subcutaneous Emphysema of the Leg.

We report a case of subcutaneous emphysema caused by perforation of the rectum due to a carcinoma of the prostate. Although rare, an abdominal cause must always be considered as a rare differential diagnosis of subcutaneous emphysema. As a matter of fact adequate diagnostic with rapid treatment is essential for the outcome.