Short neck

Introduction Congenital bony torticollis or congenital cervical fusion malformation refers to the fusion of two or more cervical vertebrae. The main manifestation is the shortening of the cervical spine. There are three major clinical features of short neck deformity: short neck, posterior hairline, and limited neck activity. But not all patients have the above characteristics, Gray et al believe that only 32% of the typical triad.

Cause

Klippel-Feil syndrome is a group of congenital malformations characterized by cervical vertebra formation and segmental disorders, also known as short neck deformities. In addition to cervical deformity, abnormalities in other system organs are often combined. There are certain difficulties in the diagnosis and prognosis of this syndrome, so patients should be fully evaluated to choose the correct treatment. In addition, whether Klippel-Feil syndrome is an independent disease or a group of congenital spinal deformities is still controversial. The exact genetic cause is still unknown, and family pedigree analysis identifies the genetic locus of the disease.

an examination

Related inspection

Cervical MRI

1, the neck is short and thick: often not obvious, but carefully observe that the neck is shorter than normal. The face is asymmetrical, and the skin on both sides of the neck from the mastoid to the acromion is widened and has a winged neck.

2, after the hairline low: the main performance is that the post-hairline is significantly lower than the normal person.

3, cervical vertebrae movement limitation: due to the fusion of the vertebral body, the range of motion of the cervical vertebra is obviously limited, and the rotation and lateral bending are particularly constrained. The multi-segment and full-segment fusion activities are limited, and the single-segment and lower-segment fusions are less obvious.

4, the short neck deformity caused by the fusion of the upper cervical vertebrae, often combined with the neck and neck deformity, more early in the neurological symptoms, mainly manifested by the instability of the occipital instability caused by spinal cord compression.

Differential diagnosis

According to the clinical manifestations of the disease, X-ray examination and CT examination is sufficient to confirm the diagnosis of short neck deformity. MRI can clearly show the segment of cervical fusion, and can determine the location and severity of spinal compression, which provides a reliable basis for the choice of treatment options. It is worth noting that in infants and young children due to incomplete ossification of the vertebral body, fusion vertebral body There is a transparent belt similar to the intervertebral disc. If you look closely, you will find that this transparent belt is narrower than the normal intervertebral space. Can not be clearly diagnosed, feasible flexion and extension of the dynamic cervical lateral radiograph, the fusion of the vertebral segment lost the normal cervical spine curve, the intervertebral space does not change.

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