Brown-Sequard syndrome caused by cervical disc herniation

ABSTRACT

Cervical disc herniation can be a cause of neurological symptoms but rarely Brown-Sequard syndrome. This syndrome is most commonly observed in association with spinal cord injury, tumoural disease or herniation of the spinal cord. Cervical disc herniation manifesting as a hemicord syndrome is a rare clinical finding. We report two patients, aged 45 and 52 years old, presenting with a unilateral right-sided hemiparesis with associated controlateral sensory findings at the T2 dermatome level. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an isolated cervical disc herniation with marked spinal cord compression at C4/C5 and C5/C6 level respectively. Surgical treatment was performed by an anterior cervical discectomy with intersomatic arthrodesis in both cases. After surgery, there was a rapid improvement in motor symptoms and signs, however sensory functions required more recovery time. The previous 19 published cases were analyzed