Asymptomatic posterior cervical myelomeningocele with tethered cord in an adolescent

Abstract

Unlike lumbar spinal dysraphism, cervical spinal dysraphism with or without tethered cord are rare lesions. These lesions are generally asymptomatic at birth, but with progression of time symptoms develop. These may be associated with various other anomalies. Not much have been reported in literature about cervical myelomeningocele (MMC) in adults or adolescents. We report a case of a 17 years old adolescent boy with cervical myelomeningocele with tethered cervical cord, who was completely intact neurologically even at this age and was without any associated anomaly. He came to us only for cosmetic reasons. The tethering band, which was evident on imaging was confirmed intra-operatively.

Keywords

• cervical myelomeningocele
• spinal dysraphism
• tethered cord