Traumatic spondyloptosis of the lumbar spine: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Spondyloptosis is the most severe of translation spine injuries. It results in complete disruption of the structural elements of the vertebral column and the adjacent paravertebral soft tissues, culminating in severe biomechanical instability. Although several cases of lumbosacral spondyloptosis have been documented, not many cases of traumatic lumbar spondyloptosis have been published in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 34-year-old man of Nilo-Hamitic ethnicity who presented to our unit with paraplegia following injury from the collapse of a concrete wall. Radiographic images showed spondyloptosis at the fourth lumbar vertebral level. He underwent surgery where decompression, reduction, posterior instrumentation and bone grafting through a posterior approach were done. He started regaining motor power 48 hours postoperatively. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation and is steadily improving, 2 months postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: In limited-resource settings there is a tendency of “skilful neglect” of complex injuries. Where resources allow, surgical reconstruction of spondyloptosis should be attempted irrespective of the severity of the initial neurological deficit because there are chances of neurological improvement.