title: Posterior limbus vertebral lesions causing lumbosacral radiculopathy and the cauda equina syndrome.
abstract: This report reviews our experience with spinal decompression for posterior limbus vertebral lesions or osteocartilaginous vertebral corner defects in the lumbar spine in 29 children and young adults. There were 19 male and 10 female patients with a mean age of 16.5 years (range, 9 to 24 years). Twenty-four patients were involved with various athletic activities. Clinical presentation included low back pain with a variable degree of radiculopathy in 25 patients and a cauda equina syndrome in four. The level of the affected spinal area was L1-2 in one patient, L2-3 in one, L3-4 in seven, L4-5 in 17, and L5-S1 in three. The preoperative imaging workup showed lateralised "non-calcified' or 'calcified' limbus vertebral defects in 13 patients and centrally displaced lesions in 16 patients. All patients underwent posterior spinal decompression with a slightly extended laminotomy, except for three patients who had a subsequent posterolateral fusion. All of the patients consequently returned to practice their favourite preoperative sport and lifestyle, but five discontinued their previous sports. We suggest that patients with posterior limbus vertebral lesions require careful diagnosis and therapy that are different from those with an ordinary lumbar disc herniation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fukui Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Furusawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maezawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azuchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamitani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Annen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D002420:Cauda Equina / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome