Unusual upper cervical fracture in a 1-year-old girl

Injuries to the child's cervical spine are rare and, unlike adults, most common from the occiput to C3. Most odontoid fractures in children occur through the basilar synchondrosis and only the dens is displaced anteriorly. The authors report the clinical and radiologic evaluation of a child who sustained an unusual cervical injury during a motor vehicle accident. The lesion consisted of an epiphyseal fracture-separation between the body and the neural arches of C2. There was also an associated spinal cord lesion.