A Case of a Recurrent Postoperative Discitis

ABSTRACT

The etiology of the postoperative discitis is not fully known, but most likely, the cause seems to be of a low grade infection and chemical and mechanical injuries. The incidence of these complication is from 0.12% to 2.6% of all cases. The characteristics of this disease are recurrence of severe lower back and gluteal pain, spasm of lumbar paravertebral muscle and elevated E.S.R. following the asymptomatic post-operative period, a roentgenogram showed an early destructive change in the adjacent vertebra, the narrowing of the intervertebral disc space, sclerotic changes in the vertebral bone and occasional fusion of the spine, and relatively good prognosis. We present a case of recurrent postoperative discitis with E.S.R. change and roentgenographic change.