Spinal cord injures in children observed over many years

The known salient features of spinal cord injuries in children are that 1) plane X-rays may not show dislocations or fractures, 2) many of these injuries are complete transections, 3) many injuries are located at the level of upper thoracic spine, and 4) the duration of spinal shock is short. Complications such as pressure sores occur just as easily in children as in adults and the injuries tend to be just as intractable. Complications characteristic in children with spinal cord injuries are spinal deformity and hip dislocation. In this paper, we describe a case involving a C7 spinal cord injury caused by a fall when the patient was 3 years old. We have observed the physical complications for 15 years following that injury. We also report on other observed cases of spinal cord injury.