title: [Spontaneous spinal cord herniation: a rare cause of the Brown-Sequard syndrome].
abstract: Recent reports have shown that spontaneous spinal cord herniation in the thoracic segment of the spine may be one of the causes of the progressive spinal cord lesion. Although it was described for the first time by Wortzman in 1974, it was only in early 1990s that a growing number of publications on single cases of the condition started to be observed. In the relevant literature collected by us we found reports on 53 patients altogether. In a number of cases herniation was diagnosed only intraoperatively in spite of complex radiological diagnostics. The analysis of relevant literature shows that spontaneous or idiopathic spinal cord herniation has a very typical clinical picture and most cases share a number of features, such as the clinical condition, age and sex of the patient as well as the level and location of the entity and its radiological picture. We conclude that spontaneous herniation of the spinal cord may be not as rare as previously thought and that it should be always taken into account in differential diagnostics of progressive myelopathy in the thoracic segment in middle-aged patients, especially females.
authors.affiliation: Katedra i Oddział Kliniczny Neurochirurgii, Slaska Akademia Medyczna, Wojewódzki Szpital Specjalistyczny Nr 5, plac Medykow 1, 41-200 Sosnowiec. maliszewski_m@poczta.onet.pl
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maliszewski
authors.forename: Henryk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Majchrzak
mesh_terms: D018437:Brown-Sequard Syndrome / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D004388:Dura Mater / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006547:Hernia / Q000473:pathology; D059685:Herniorrhaphy; D006801:Humans; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery