Metastatic odontoid fracture management by anterior screw fixation and kyphoplasty

We report the case of a patient diagnosed with a pathological fracture of the odontoid dens related to a renal carcinoma metastasis and treated by an original technique. In order to achieve correct stabilization of the fracture and to preserve rotational neck mobility, an anterior approach combining an odontoid screw fixation and a balloon kyphoplasty was performed. This minimal invasive strategy provided satisfactory clinical and radiological results for this unstable lesion. To our knowledge, this technique has not been previously reported and could be a valuable alternative approach in the management of craniocervical metastatic lesions for these fragile patients. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.