Vertebral synostosis and its clinical importance – A case series

Synostosis/ block vertebrae/ fusion of vertebrae occurs due to congenital fusion or due to spinal diseases like tuberculosis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic conditions. The synostosis may be either complete or incomplete or may be either acquired or congenital. The fused vertebrae function as one vertebra, and are usually asymptomatic until adulthood, where degenerative changes occur, and nerve root compression symptoms are noticed. This study aimed to find incidence of vertebral synostosis in population of Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. In the present study a total of 575 vertebrae were examined for presence of block vertebrae/ synostosis/ fusion and found a total of 08 cases (Incidence = 1.39%) out of which we found mostly in cervical region – 04 out of 08 cases (Incidence = 0.69%), followed by thoracic region – 03 out of 08 cases (Incidence = 0.52%) and cervicothoracic region – 01 out of 08 cases (Incidence =0.17) This is the first study for vertebral synostosis in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, to the best of our knowledge.