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Cervical Myelopathy Secondary to Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament in a Caucasian Patient

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

B. Maroun Falah*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
P. Makino Akira*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
R.S. Tong Tommy*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
G. Perkins Philip*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Arts Rudolph*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
C. Jacob Jacob*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Reddy R.*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Division of Orthopaedics (P.G.P.), Division of Neurology (R.A., J.C.J.), Department of Radiology (R.R.), General Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland
*
Division of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 3V6
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Abstract:

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Cervical myelopathy consequent on ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is very rare in Caucasians. A 65-year-old Anglo-Saxon woman developed progressive gait disturbance, paresthesia in both legs and urinary urge incontinence. Radiological examination showed OPLL from fifth to seventh cervical vertebral level; the dense OPLL was graphically displayed by three-dimensional computerized tomography. Medial corpectomy, C5 to C7, and removal of OPLL, with subsequent fusion C4 to Tl using a free fibula graft resulted in clinical improvement. Three dimensional computerized tomographic imaging is a valuable diagnostic procedure in OPLL.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1993

References

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