Surgical Management of Idiopathic Thoracic Spinal Cord Herniation with Segmental Type of OPLL: A Case Report

, Tae-Hun Kim; , Dae-Hyun Kim; , Sang-Young Kim; , Gi-Hwan Choi; , Ki-Hong Kim

Case Report

Journal of Korean Society of Geriatric Neurosurgery 2018;14(1):49-52.
Published online June 30, 2018.

Surgical Management of Idiopathic Thoracic Spinal Cord Herniation with Segmental Type of OPLL: A Case Report

Tae-Hun Kim , Dae-Hyun Kim , Sang-Young Kim , Gi-Hwan Choi , Ki-Hong Kim

Department of Neurosurgery, Daegu Catholic University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea

Abstract

Spinal cord herniation was first reported in 1974 by Wortzman et al. The anatomical lesions induced are characterized by the herniation of a part of the thoracic spinal cord into an anterior or anterolateral dural defect. The main symptom of this disease is a gradually progressive sensory and motor deficit, such as myelopathy, mainly in the form of Brown-Séquard syndrome. A 64-year-old woman with no history of trauma had been suffering from left lower limb numbness and paresthesia. She presented with progressive weakness of the right leg and limping over a period of one year. The clinical examination confirmed the presence of Brown-Séquard syndrome. We present a case of idiopathic thoracic spinal cord herniation with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament at T5-6, including our surgical technique and a literature review.

Key Words: Spinal cord disease, Longitudinal ligament, Brown-Séquard syndrome