Fracture of the occipital condyle: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Fracture of the occipital condyle is a rare injury that can be easily overlooked. We report a patient with an occipital condyle fracture who presented with pyramidal syndrome and normal plain radiographs. The diagnosis was made by high-resolution computed tomographic scanning with sagittal and coronal reconstructions and magnetic resonance imaging. Surgical treatment was deferred because of spontaneous recovery. This fracture should be considered whenever a trauma patient presents neck pain and plain cervical spine radiographs show no abnormalities.