Displacement between the 4th, 5th, and 6th vertabrae

    
      Re: Displacement  between the 4th, 5th, and 6th vertabrae
    


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Posted by CCF Neuro MD on June 17, 1997 at 11:31:59:

In Reply to: Displacement  between the 4th, 5th, and 6th vertabrae posted by Lalit Chopra on June 10, 1997 at 00:18:32:

: My uncle was in an accident where his 4th, 5th, and 6th vertabrae were displaced.  The pressure on the nerves was removed through surgery.  Prior to this surgery, he could breathe easy and had some movement in his arms and hands.  However after surgery he has been hooked up to a respirator 24-hours a day and has no movement in his hands or arms.  Is this normal and will the breathing or hand movement ever come back?
  Thank you for all of your help,
  Lalit Chopra
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Dear Lalit Chopra,
You do not state what type of injury your uncle was involved in.  It is likely that the injury caused a severe flexion or extension of the cervical spine (I am assuming this is the level injured), causing a displacement/dislocation  or fracture of the verterbrae, C 4-6.  This lead to an unstable spine, requiring surgical stabilization or traction.  The severity of injury may be more extensive in people who had pre-existing conditions such as degenerative spine disease, arthritis or congenital narrow cervical spinal canal.  The initial injury may injure the cord or spinal roots, or some people may be lucky enough to escape any neurologic deficit.  Respiration is usually paralyzed from lesions above C3-5 since the phrenic nerve innervates the diaphragm and receives its innervation from C3,4,5.  I do not know the extent of your uncle's injury and therefore it would be unfair for me to speculate if he will recover function.  He may be experiencing some swelling after surgery and thus may recover function once the swellin goes down.  These are excellent questions but difficult to answer without knowing exact details of your uncle's case.  I suggest asking these exact questions to the neurosurgeon or neurologist on the case.  They should be able to provide more accurate information than I could provide by speculation.  Once you have talked with them and if you have any more specific questions, write us back and we will try to help.
This information is provided fr general medical education purposes only.  Please consult your physican for diagnostic and treatment options of your uncles specific medical condition.