Pharyngeal Abscess Resulting in a Fusion of the Skullbase-Cl-C2

Abstract

A 46-year-old white male drug addict presented with a retropharyngeal space mass. Clinical examination was suggestive of an abscess which was confirmed by radiological examination which also showed contrast enhancement in the prevertebral and epidural space from the skullbase to the C5 level. The abscess was incised and antibiotics administered. The following year, atlantoaxial instability and a rotatory dislocation of C1 on C2 was found and two years after treatment a rotatory dislocation of C1 on C2 with a fusion between the skullbase, C1 and C2 was found, a complication not previously reported. His complaints at this stage consisted of L'Hermitte symptoms and severe limitation on head rotation.