Concurrent Ossification of the Posterior Atlantoaxial Interlaminar Membrane and Atlas Hypoplasia: A Case Report

An onset of cervical myelopathy due to ossification of the posterior atlantoaxial membrane (PAAM) is extremely rare in older patients, and its clinical characteristics are still unclear. We report an onset of ossification of PAAM with congenital atlas hypoplasia in an 81-year-old man who presented with a 2-year history of progressive cervical myelopathy. Cervical computed tomography (CT) revealed canal stenosis secondary to a hypoplastic posterior arch of the atlas with a diameter of 20.3 mm between the anterior and posterior process. Magnetic resonance imaging showed marked spinal cord compression at the level of C1–2 secondary to atlas hypoplasia as well as ossification of PAAM. The patient underwent laminectomy of C1 and partial C2, as well as removal of the ossification, without atlantoaxial fusion. His neurological status improved 1 year postoperatively. In older patients, cervical myelopathy secondary to PAAM ossification, in the absence of trauma and atlantoaxial instability, may be induced by age-related pathophysiology associated with congenital atlas hypoplasia.