title: Is that lumbar disc symptomatic? Herniated lumbar disc associated with contralateral radiculopathy.
abstract: Herniated lumbar disc may be asymptomatic or associated with lower limb radiculopathy. Most spinal surgeons would offer surgery following a period of conservative measures if the radiological and clinical findings correlate. However, the existing dictum that lumbar radiculopathy should correlate with ipsilateral lumbar disc herniation may not be accurate as it can rarely present with contralateral sciatica. Literature regarding this phenomenon is scarce. Therefore, we report a patient with herniated lumbar disc presenting with predominantly contralateral motor weakness radiculopathy, which resolved after discectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Muhammad Fahmi
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Abdul Jalil
authors.forename: Miu Fei
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Yi Yuen
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D017586:Diskectomy / Q000379:methods*; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011859:Radiography; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012585:Sciatica / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome