Thoracic disc herniation. Unilateral transpedicular approach in 35 consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic disc herniation is uncommon and surgery for thoracic disc herniation represents less than 1-2% of operations for disc disease. However, there is no consensus on the best approach and reports are based on small series. METHODS: A consecutive series of 35 thoracic disc herniations (25 in women and 10 in men) were treated between 1991 and 1996 using the transpedicular approach and followed in a prospective study. All patients had a preoperative MRI examination. The mean age was 51 years. The T6-7 and T7-8 level were the most frequent localization. The interval between onset of symptoms and operation ranged from 6 weeks to 4 years with a mean of 18 months. Presenting symptoms on admission was radiculopathy in 12 patients and myelopathy in 23 patients. Severe urinary symptoms were found in 2 patients, moderate symptoms in 9 patients, mild symptoms in 3 patients and 21 patient had no urinary symptoms. RESULTS: One patient was paraplegic immediately after surgery and she made no further improvement. A good result was found in 15 patients, a fair result was found in a further 11 patients but in 8 patients the outcome was unchanged with no effect of a reoperation in two cases. No clinical or radiographic features of instability were found. The postoperative course was uneventful, except in one patient with a wound abscess leading to discitis. CONCLUSIONS: The transpedicular approach can be an effective and safe method of surgical decompression in carefully selected patients.

Two-level thoracic disc herniation.

We report a rare case of two-level thoracic disc herniation that occurred in a 48-year-old woman. She was referred with a 10-month history of pain on the right side of the thorax. On examination, she had hypoesthesia and hypalgesia in the right T6-T8 dermatomes. An MRI scan revealed a large herniated disc at the T7/8 level and a smaller herniated disc at the T6/7 level. At surgery, the unilateral transpedicular approach was used, and a large prolapse was removed at the T7/8 level. The T6/7 level was decompressed. The patient made an uneventful recovery. Six months after surgery her pain had disappeared, but she still had hypoesthesia in the right T6-T8 dermatomes.

Thoracic disk herniation in an 82-year-old patient. Treatment with the transpedicular approach.

A rare case of thoracic disk herniation in an 82-year-old female is reported. The patient was referred with a 2-month history of weakness and paresthesia of her left leg. On examination she had a severe paresis of the left leg and mild paresis of the right leg. Myelography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a T10-T11 disk herniation. The unilateral transpedicular approach was used and a large prolapse was surgically removed. The patient made an uneventful recovery and her neurologic function recovered to almost normal.

Central nervous system reactions to cervical myelography.

In a double blind prospective study of side effects to cervical myelography 38 patients were evaluated with neurologic examination, electroencephalography (EEG), brainstem evoked response (BER), somatosensory evoked responses (SSER), and continuous reaction times prior to and at 6 h and 24 h after myelography with either metrizamide or iohexol. A difference in the incidence of side effects (for example headache, dizziness, nausea, and neck pain) to the two different contrast media indicated that the inconveniences related to myelography were not only due to the spinal puncture. A contrast medium effect on the central nervous system varying from one agent to another was present. A high frequency of EEG deteriorations among patients with adverse clinical reactions and on only discrete affection upon BER indicated the reaction to be located to the cerebral cortex. Weakened tendon reflexes and reduced strength in the upper extremities were probably caused by blockade in the motor roots as SSER were normal indicating no affection of the sensory pathways. This hypothesis is in agreement with the fact that the patients were in the prone position in the first phase of the investigation causing the highest concentration of contrast medium around the motor roots and the anterior part of the spinal cord. Difference in metabolic effect may explain differences in side effects of metrizamide and iohexol.