Recurrent tethered cord syndrome: a novel approach for a difficult surgical condition?

Spinal manifestations of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

Since its initial description, the definition of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) has notably changed. At present, it broadly refers to disorders of the connective tissue that are heritable and have similar features including joint hypermobility, dermal dysplasia, and vascular as well as internal organ fragility. There has been no comprehensive review of spinal manifestations of EDS in the recent literature. That has led to controversies in management protocols of this so-called orphan disease.

METHODS

The authors used the latest version of the EDS classification from 2017, in which 13 subtypes were recognized. EDS has 19 different causal genes, mainly associated with collagen synthesis. Of these, 5 subtypes have associated spinal manifestations.

RESULTS

Some of the spinal pathologies associated with EDS include Chiari malformation, craniocervical instability, kyphoscoliosis, segmental instability and kyphosis, spontaneous CSF leaks, Tarlov cyst syndrome, tethered cord, and problems associated with wound healing. Here, the authors briefly discuss the demographics, etiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, management strategies, and directions for further research for each of these manifestations.

CONCLUSIONS

EDS belongs to the group of orphan diseases, with the total patient population being below 200,000. Further research on spinal manifestations of EDS is the need of the hour to establish clinical practice guidelines and close the significant knowledge gaps that currently exist.

Spinal cord infarction caused by sacral canal epidural steroid injection: A case report

RATIONALE

Spinal cord infarction is one of the complications of epidural steroid injections (ESIs), but has only been reported in cervical vertebra by transforaminal injection and lumbar vertebra by transforaminal injection; and up to now, there is no reporting about spinal cord infarction caused by caudal injection. Here, we report a case.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 52-year-old man was admitted to our hospital. He was diagnosed as lumbar disc herniation in other hospital, and the patient suffered bilateral lower limb motor and sensory disorders after administration of caudal ESI.

DIAGNOSIS

Spinal cord infarction, tethered cord syndrome (TCS), and acute myelitis.

INTERVENTIONS

High doses of hormones, gamma globulin impact therapy, and rehabilitation were performed.

OUTCOMES

The patient's condition was stable when he discharged from the hospital after 20 days of treatment. Discharge status: grade 0 of bilateral lower limbs muscle strength, inability to urinate and defecate by himself, slightly decreased touch, and needling sensation below the umbilical plane.

LESSONS

When patients are diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation and need to receive invasive treatments, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be performed before the invasive procedures.

Spine-shortening osteotomy for patients with tethered cord syndrome caused by lipomyelomeningocele

OBJECTIVE

Tethered cord syndrome (TCS) is a disorder involving an abnormal stretching of the tethered spinal cord caused by several pathological conditions and presents with a variety of neurological symptoms. Untethering (tethered cord release) is the gold standard treatment for TCS. However, untethering carries risks of spinal cord injury and postoperative retethering. To avoid these potential risks, the authors applied spine-shortening osteotomy to adult patients with TCS, and report on the surgical procedure and treatment outcomes.

METHODS

Eight patients with TCS caused by a lipomyelomeningocele were surgically treated by the authors' original procedure of spine-shortening osteotomy. Six patients were male and 2 were females; average age at the time of surgery was 31 years old. Spine-shortening osteotomy was performed at the level of L-1 in all but 2 patients, in whom it was performed at T-12, with spinal fusion between T-12 and L-2 or T-11 and L-1 using a pedicle screw-rod system. The average follow-up period was 6.2 years and the patients' pre- and postoperative conditions were evaluated clinically and radiologically.

RESULTS

Preoperatively, all patients displayed severe neurological deficits such as motor disturbance, muscle atrophy, and bladder dysfunction. Several months before surgery, all showed progressive symptoms. Those symptoms showed initial improvement in 6 patients and stabilized in 2 postoperatively, but the improved symptoms worsened again in 4 of the 6 patients. The osteotomized vertebrae were shortened by 21 mm on average, and all spines showed complete bone union without loss of correction. At the final follow-up evaluations, 6 patients showed stabilization as per the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association score for thoracic myelopathy.

CONCLUSIONS

Spine-shortening osteotomy successfully helps reduce the spinal cord tension without causing direct neural damage. At minimum, it stabilized the patients' symptoms and/or helped delay neurological deterioration for a period of time. Spine-shortening osteotomy might be a feasible mode of treatment for adult TCS caused by a spinal lipoma.