SPINAL-CANAL STENOSIS AT THE LEVEL OF THE ATLAS - CASE-REPORT

We describe a rare case of cervical canal stenosis at the level of the atlas, presenting with cervical myelopathy as an initial symptom. A 5 5-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a 4-month history of gait disturbance and clumsiness in both hands. He had no history of tr auma, and showed left-sided hemihyperesthesia and mild quadriplegia wi th exaggerated deep tendon reflexes. Plain cervical tomography reveale d marked spinal canal stenosis, with the diameter of 8.0 mm at the lev el of the atlas. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated severe compre ssion of the spinal cord at the atlas with an extensive high intensity area indicating edema on T2-weighted images. The patient showed an ex cellent recovery after laminectomy of the atlas combined with decompre ssion of the lower posterior fossa of the foramen magnum and dural pla sty.