Intraosseouss degenerative cyst of the axis approached via transcervical extrapharyngeal avenue
A 43-year-old man came to our clinic with a history of significant chronic neck pain. He was referred to us due to a lesion in the axis seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The neurological examination was normal. The computed tomography showed a lytic lesion with sclerotic margins in C2. The MRI showed a lesion hypointense in T1 and hypeintense in T2-signal intensity []. The angiography of the cervical region was normal, as well as cintilography. Functional plain film of the cervical spine showed no instability. Based on the cervical pain and the necessity to perform a diagnosis the patient the lesion was approached. It was used an anterior transcervical extrapharyngeal approach. The anterior part of C1, C2, and C3 was exposed. A cavity within C2 was identified, and a soft material was removed. The cavity was completed with iliac bone graft. In the post-operative, the patient showed a tongue deviation to the opposite side of the approach (hypoglossal nerve alteration). Histopathological examination showed a dense fibrous tissue with no synovial layer. It was not indicated cervical instrumentation because there was no cervical instability The patient had improvement cervical pain and is being monitoring in the last three years with cervical MRI and plain films [].