Düzce Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi (May 2010)
Scoliosis in a Case of Neurofibromatosis Type 1
Abstract
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a multisystemic disease, manifesting as abnormalities ofthe nervous tissue, bones, soft tissue, and skin. The entity is dominantly inherited and affects 1in 4000 individuals. Cafe-au-lait spots, peripheral neurofibromas, Lisch nodules and axillaryfreckling are the characteristics of NF1. Bone abnormalities are usually observed in NF1. Scoliosis is a skeletal anomaly reported to beassociated with NF1. We made a diagnosis of NF1 and scoliosis secondary to NF1 in our 26-year-old male case with complaints of low back pain, a mass on his left hip beginning 10 yearsago and growing and with cafe-au-lait spots on his back. We think that, in daily practice, it isimportant to look for cafe-au-lait spots with inspection in the patients coming with the complaintof low back pain and when these spots are observed a diagnosis of NF1 should be suspected.Besides, we wanted to emphasize that scoliosis should be searched in the patients with adiagnosis of NF1 and low back pain.
