Cervical Flexion Myelopathy Eleven Years after a Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

We herein describe a 37-year-old man who developed cervical flexion myelopathy 11 years after suffering a cervical spinal cord injury. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging 11 years after the accident demonstrated atrophy and hyperintense lesions at the C6 and C7 levels in the cervical cord with an abnormal alignment of the vertebrae. In the neck flexion position, an anterior shift of the cervical cord was evident. Our patient's condition suggests that an abnormal alignment of the cervical spine and spinal cord injury due to a traumatic accident could be risk factors in the subsequent development of cervical flexion myelopathy.