Lumbar disc herniation in a 9-year-old child
Lumbar disc herniation is very uncommon in children under the age of 10 years. We report on a lumbar disc herniation in a 9 year old. The patient presented with spontaneous onset of back pain and right leg pain which had failed to respond to 6 months of conservative treatment at a primary health care facility. Examination revealed severe lumbar back muscle spasm, listing of the spine to the left and a positive straight leg raising test on the right. The child had weakness of the right big toe extension. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed a disc prolapsed at L4L5 compressing the traversing right nerve root of L5. A standard discectomy followed by rehabilitation was performed after a further 2 weeks of observation. The muscle spasm and listing together with the right big toe motor weakness disappeared post operation. At 3 months follow-up he was back into his school activities.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Medpharm Publications
2011
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1681-150X2011000300016 |
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| Summary: | Lumbar disc herniation is very uncommon in children under the age of 10 years. We report on a lumbar disc herniation in a 9 year old. The patient presented with spontaneous onset of back pain and right leg pain which had failed to respond to 6 months of conservative treatment at a primary health care facility. Examination revealed severe lumbar back muscle spasm, listing of the spine to the left and a positive straight leg raising test on the right. The child had weakness of the right big toe extension. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed a disc prolapsed at L4L5 compressing the traversing right nerve root of L5. A standard discectomy followed by rehabilitation was performed after a further 2 weeks of observation. The muscle spasm and listing together with the right big toe motor weakness disappeared post operation. At 3 months follow-up he was back into his school activities. |
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