Early Identification of Traumatic Durotomy Associated with Atlantooccipital Dislocation May Prevent Retropharyngeal Pseudomeningocele Development.

Atlantooccipital dislocation can be complicated by a traumatic durotomy that may lead to the rare development of a retropharyngeal pseudomeningocele. To our knowledge this has been reported only five times previously. We present the case of a 60-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident who suffered an atlantooccipital dislocation and C5-C6 three-column injury.

Surgeons' perspectives on optimal patient positioning during simultaneous cranial procedures and exploratory laparotomy.

Objectives: Patients presenting with traumatic intracranial and intraabdominal injuries often require emergent care. Triage of injuries is based on severity of the individual injuries, but treatment occasionally must proceed simultaneously. Determining an optimal patient position at the time of surgery often produces unnecessary delays and this delay may negatively affect patient outcome.