Hemorrhage in brain stem cavernoma presenting with torticollis

Abstract

Spasmodic torticollis due to an identified focal brain stem lesion is uncommon and abrupt-onset spasmodic torticollis due to midbrain lesions in humans is rarely reported. A 9-year-old female child who had fallen off a bicycle and had lost consciousness for 10 min, vomiting 2-3 times, developed acute torticollis immediately after the injury. Examinations suggested hemorrhage in brain stem cavernoma. A search of the literature written in English revealed that this type of presentation has not been reported previously.