Atlantoaxial wiring hardware failure resulting in intracranial hemorrhage and hydrocephalus: illustrative case

• DOI: 10.3171/case21211
• Publication Date: 2021-09-27T07:35:39Z
• Authors: Anass Benomar; Harrison J. Westwick; Sami Obaid; André Nzokou; Sung-Joo Yuh; Daniel Shedid
• Keywords: Atlantoaxial instability; Ventriculostomy

Atlantoaxial sublaminar wiring has many known complications related to hardware failure, but intracranial hemorrhage is a rare complication.A 61-year-old female patient with prior atlantoaxial for odontoid fracture nonunion experienced decreased level of consciousness due subarachnoid and subdural the posterior fossa intraventricular extension hydrocephalus. Rupture wire intramedullary protrusion was cause hemorrhage. The treated ventriculostomy hydrocephalus occipital cervical fusion spinal instability, along removal broken drainage hematoma.This uncommon highlights an additional risk compared other techniques. In addition, this case suggests instrumentation failure as differential diagnosis when history known.