Open AccessDelayed anterior cervical plate dislodgement with pharyngeal wall perforation and oral extrusion of cervical plate screw after 8 years: A very rare complication
Author(s) -
Ravindranath Kapu,
Manish Kumar Singh,
Anil Pande,
Madabushi Chakravarthy Vasudevan,
Ravi Ramamurthi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of craniovertebral junction and spine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 0976-9285
pISSN - 0974-8237
DOI - 10.4103/0974-8237.110121
Subject(s) - medicine , surgery , corpectomy , complication , swallowing , myelopathy , fixation (population genetics) , cervical spine , spinal cord , psychiatry , population , environmental health
We report a patient with congenital anomaly of cervical spine, who presented with clinical features suggestive of cervical compressive spondylotic myelopathy. He underwent C3 median corpectomy, graft placement, and stabilization from C2 to C4 vertebral bodies. Postoperative period was uneventful and he improved in his symptoms. Eight years later, he presented with a difficulty in swallowing and occasional regurgitation of feeds of 2 months duration and oral extrusion of screw while having food. On oral examination, there was a defect in the posterior pharyngeal wall through which the upper end of plate with intact self-locking screw and socket of missed fixation screw was seen. This was confirmed on X-ray cervical spine. He underwent removal of the plate system and was fed through nasogastric tube and managed with appropriate antibiotics. This case is presented to report a very rare complication of anterior cervical plate fixation in the form of very late-onset dislodgement, migration of anterior cervical plate, and oral extrusion of screw through perforated posterior pharyngeal wall.