Chronic neck pain associated with an old odontoid fracture: a rare presentation

Cervical spine injuries represent a minority of injury cases in motor vehicles accidents but are a real threat to a patient's life. In the wide range of cervical spine injuries, odontoid (dens) fractures represent the most common findings. These fractures are more usually found in the elderly population due to the changes associated with age. Neurological deficit is not frequently found in these injuries. The following is a case presentation of a chronic odontoid fracture with neurological deficit in a young man that was discovered 23 years after he sustained a motor vehicle accident.