Traumatic paraplegia in children without contiguous spinal fracture or dislocation

Abstract

Traumatic paraplegia in children is uncommon and, in almost half of these injuries, no contiguous fracture or dislocation of the spine is found. This report presents eight such cases, three in detail. Most of the children were injured in motor vehicle accidents and sustained thoracic level injuries with a permanent loss of neurological function caudal to the injury. The clinical presentation and radiological diagnosis are reviewed. Four mechanisms of injury have been proposed: transient vertebral subluxation, transient disc herniation, traction and stretching of the spinal cord, and vascular compromise with infarction. Unless extramedullary spinal cord compression is present, laminectomy is not useful.