Smiling face odontoid

Abstract

.m ed kn ow An 18-year-old girl working as a lifeguard in a swimming pool presented with a fall on the slippery wet floor of the pool, landing on her right shoulder and back of her head. She had pins and needles in the fingertips of the right upper limb. She did not have any neurological deficits. Computed topographic scan (CT) of cervical spine showed evidence of rotatory atlantoaxial dislocation. Interestingly however, there was a distinct smiling face in the axial sections of the odontoid process [Figure 1]. MRI scan of cervical spine was normal. The patient subsequently underwent closed reduction using halo traction for two weeks. CT scan confirmed satisfactory reduction. She was mobilized with a Philadelphia