Increasing of spinal cord volume after surgical correction of ventral cord herniation: Case illustrations

Abstract

Ventral cord herniation is a rare cause of focal myelopathy due to ventral displacement of the thoracic cord through a dural defect. Classically presented with Brown-Sequard syndrome. Despite being treated with surgical intervention, not all the patients’ neurological outcome were improved. In classic cases making a diagnosis before the patients develop advanced myelopathy is crucial. These case reports demonstrate a significantly increasing spinal cord volume in segmented disease after surgical correction in both cases at disease level, which is correlated to the good surgical outcome. This volumetric of the spinal cord can be the predictor of this myelopathic syndrome. Timing of surgery from the onset of symptom should be as early as possible to reversible, restorative this focal myelopathic syndrome.

Keywords

• Ventral cord herniation
• Spontaneous thoracic spine herniation
• Idiopathic spinal cord herniation
• Spinal cord volume