Brown-Séquard syndrome caused by a high velocity gunshot injury: a case report

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum causing Brown-Séquard syndrome: a case report and literature review

Brown-Séquard syndrome (BSS) has many etiologies, including penetrating trauma, extramedullary tumors, and disc herniation. However, thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is an extremely rare cause of this syndrome. A 46-year-old woman with motor weakness in her right lower extremity and urinary retention was admitted to our department. Based on the results of physical examination, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, a diagnosis of BSS with OLF was considered. The patient underwent urgent conservative treatment. BSS is a rare condition characterized by hemisection or hemicompression of the spinal marrow. The herein-described case of incomplete BSS due to OLF responded to conservative treatment. However, the successful nonoperative management of this case is insufficient evidence to consider it as the standard of care. Therefore, emergency laminectomy decompression remains the standard of care for BSS.

Brown-Séquard syndrome after a gun shot wound to the cervical spine: a case report

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

Brown-Séquard syndrome is characterized by a hemisection of the spinal cord most commonly after spinal trauma or neoplastic disease. The injury causes ipsilateral hemiplegia and proprioceptive sensory disturbances with contralateral loss of pain and temperature sensation. Patients with Brown-Séquard syndrome have the best prognosis of all spinal cord injury patterns. At this time, the ideal management for Brown-Séquard syndrome after penetrating trauma has yet to be defined.

PURPOSE

To report a case of a gun shot wound to the upper cervical spine that resulted in Brown-Séquard syndrome and was treated effectively with early cervical spine decompression and fusion.

STUDY DESIGN

Observational case report.

METHODS

A 28-year-old woman presented after sustaining a low-velocity gun shot wound in to the upper cervical spine in a civilian assault. On initial presentation, she had 0/5 motor scores in the left upper and lower extremities and normal motor scores on the right. Sensory examination was limited as she was intubated and sedated on admission due to airway compromise. A computed tomography scan revealed a bullet lodged in the vertebral body of C3 with boney fragments and soft tissue encroaching on the spinal cord. Subsequently, she underwent C3 corpectomy, bulletectomy, and anterior cervical decompression with fusion.

RESULTS

Intraoperatively, no dural disruption or cerebral spinal fluid leak was noted, and her posterior longitudinal ligament was intact. One month postoperatively, her left lower extremity motor score was 5/5 with movement of her left thumb and all fingers. Strength in her biceps, triceps, and wrist extensors and flexors was 3/5. Her functional capacity and strength gradually improved.

CONCLUSIONS

Reinke et al. support surgical intervention for patients with incomplete paraplegia after the patient is medically stabilized, although their case report discussed lower thoracic injury, which carries a more favorable prognosis. All other prior case reports and prospective studies that reported favorable outcomes after Brown-Séquard syndrome involved the midthoracic, low thoracic, or lumbar spinal levels. This report is the first case of Brown-Séquard syndrome after a high cervical gun shot wound, which was managed with immediate decompression and fusion, where near complete recovery was obtained.

Evidence on magnetic resonance imaging of Brown-Séquard spinal cord injury suffered indirectly from a gunshot wound

The authors describe a rare case of Brown-Séquard syndrome as a result of indirect, concussive trauma to the spinal cord from a gunshot wound (GSW) and present the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging evidence obtained in this interesting case. The patient was shot in the anterior neck and the bullet passed through the lateral aspect of the C-7 lateral mass and transverse process. Bone fragments from the lateral aspect of C-7 were displaced posteriorly into the soft tissues, but no abnormalities were noted within the spinal canal except for high-intensity signal on T2-weighted MR imaging within the right side of the spinal cord. This is the first reported case to provide MR imaging evidence of a Brown-Séquard spinal cord injury as a result of indirect trauma (concussive injury) from a GSW.