Diver’s Nightmare
Author: BuMin Kong, MD
Peer-Reviewer: Mark Hopkins, MD, CAQ-SM
Final Editor: Alex Tomesch, MD, CAQ-SM
A 27 year old male presents with neck pain after diving headfirst into shallow waters. He has midline tenderness and a normal neurological exam. CT of the cervical spine is shown below.
Case courtesy of Dr Andrew Dixon, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 9601
References
[1] Muratsu H, Doita M, Yanagi T, Sekiguchi K, Nishida K, Tomioka M, Kurosaka M. Cerebellar infarction resulting from vertebral artery occlusion associated with a Jefferson fracture. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2005 Jun;18(3):293-6. PMID: 15905778.
[2] Lee TT, Green BA, Petrin DR. Treatment of stable burst fracture of the atlas (Jefferson fracture) with rigid cervical collar. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1998 Sep 15;23(18):1963-7. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199809150-