Spontaneous regression of herniated cervical disc.
BACKGROUND
Spontaneous regression of herniated lumbar disc has been well established. However, spontaneous regression of herniated cervical disc is rare, and such reports are few.


OBJECTIVE
To present a rare case of spontaneous regression of herniated cervical disc.


METHODS
A case study.


METHODS
A 27-year-old man presented with severe pain on the left C6 level. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a lateral extruded disc at the C5-C6 level. The patient refused discectomy.


RESULTS
The patient's pain disappeared after 3 weeks. Follow-up MRI revealed partial spontaneous regression in the extruded disc after 3 weeks and complete spontaneous regression after 12 months.


CONCLUSIONS
All previous cases of herniated cervical disc that regressed spontaneously have been of the extruded type. In the patient with the cervical extruded disc, nonsurgical conservative observation should be considered an option for treatment.
Department of Neurosurgery, Showa University School of Medicine and Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Tokyo 142-8666, Japan.
Nobusuke
N
Kobayashi
Shunji
S
Asamoto
Hiroshi
H
Doi
Yukio
Y
Ikeda
Kiyoshi
K
Matusmoto
D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors