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In January 2001, Zac hurt his neck while playing with his twin brother. 13 months later, we finally got a correct diagnosis of Atlanto-Axial Rotary Fixation, (AARF), and in March 2002 Zac had a spinal fusion operation and was placed in a halo cast.
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We hope that you find this site useful in learning more about living with a halo cast, especially for kids, and about AARF. For more info on AARF and compromised transverse ligament, click on the links below.
There are additional pages for this website, please use the buttons at the bottom of the page!
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Zac is a pretty typical 9.5 year old boy. He has a twin brother and an older brother who has Down Syndrome. He also has two dogs, two cats, a rat and a goldfish, and lives at home with all of them and his Mom and Dad!
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Following Zac's accident while playing with his brother, his neck was twisted and tilted to the right and his chin was leaning down. He was stuck in this position for over 13 months! The correct diagnosis of AARF took a long time to get, and the duration of 13 months is virtually unheard of!
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Luckily, we had the best surgeon in the world for this problem available to us, Dr. Dachling Pang, M.D., and he was able to help Zac by correcting the twist and lean and by strengthening his neck. Zac had a c1-c2 cervical spinal fusion following a week of traction, and was placed in his halo cast in March, 2002. He is expecting to remain in the halo cast for 4 months, and his entire recovery will take about a year.
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 twister2@sbcglobal.net
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