Abstract
A 75-year-old man had C5 unilateral facet interlocking after falling from the roof. He was neurologically intact. But after closed reduction with traction, the patient presented incomplete tetraplegia and sensory loss from the C6 level down. Emergency MRI demonstrated the presence of C5/6 intervertebral disc herniation. He underwent removal of the disc herniation and anterior spinal fusion as soon as was possible. Postoperatively, he experienced immediate neurological improvement.
It is important to evaluate the risk of disc herniation after reduction. If MRI reveals protrusive disc herniation beforer eduction, we should remove the disc herniation anteriorly and perform anterior spinal fusion.
