Citation

Loebel F, Fekonja L, Vajkoczy P, Hecht N. World Neurosurg. 2018; 119: 389-393.

Affiliation

Department of Neurosurgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: nils.hecht@charite.de.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.wneu.2018.08.089

PMID

30145385

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Non-lethal cervical spine injuries in skydiving are rare due to the associated high mortality. Here, we report an unusual pathomechanism leading to a Hangman's Fracture in a semi-professional parachute athlete. CASE DESCRIPTION: The moment of injury was captured on a first-person video and identified as a rough parachute opening deceleration during canopy deployment, caused by failure of the parachute inflation control device. Fractures of the C2 pars interarticularis with C2/C3 instability were treated by anterior cervical discectomy and fusion and the patient reached full recovery.

CONCLUSION: Excessive deceleration during canopy deployment may pose a risk for life-threatening cervical spine injuries in skydiving.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Hangman’s Fracture; skydiving; spine surgery; spine trauma