Delayed paralysis after cervical fracture-dislocation. Case report.

The authors describe the late development of ascending damage to the spinal cord after a cervicothoracic fracture-dislocation that produced no evidence of cord or nerve injury other than transient mild paresthesia in the arms. After 16 years, progressive quadriplegia developed with subsequent ascending dissociated sensory loss in the upper cervical dermatomes. The presence of a central syrinx was verified at operation 18 years after the injury.