Nerve.  2021 Apr;7(1):24-26. 10.21129/nerve.2021.7.1.24.

Idiopathic Spinal Cord Herniation at Thoracic Spine Level: A Case Report

• Bae TW
• Lee W
• Kim YJ

• KMID: 2543207
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21129/nerve.2021.7.1.24

Abstract

Idiopathic spinal cord herniation (ISCH) is a rare disease. It especially occurs at the thoracic level through a ventral dural defect without a definite pathophysiology. More patients have been diagnosed recently because both technical quality and accessibility to magnetic resonance image have increased. Symptoms of ISCH are related to anterior cord syndrome due to the location of cord herniation in the ventral portion. Progressive myelopathy and complete or partial Brown-Sequard syndrome are also commonly observed. Spinal cord reposition or dural defect repair are treatments of choice. We present a case of ISCH at T4-5 level of a patient whose symptom of chronic back pain turned into Brown-Sequard syndrome. It was managed with surgical treatment, spinal cord reposition, and dural defect repair with an artificial dura patch. En bloc laminoplasty was also performed to prevent deformity and CSF leakage.

Keyword

Herniation; Spinal cord; Brown-Sequard syndrome; Thoracic spine