Symptomatic thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis: Report of a case and review

Abolfazl Rahimizadeh; Parviz Habibollahzadeh; Walter L Williamson; Housain Soufiani; Mahan Amirzadeh; Shaghayegh Rahimizadeh

doi:10.25259/SNI_1067_2021

Symptomatic thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis: Report of a case and review

Surg Neurol Int. 2021 Dec 8:12:596. doi: 10.25259/SNI_1067_2021. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Abolfazl Rahimizadeh¹, Parviz Habibollahzadeh¹, Walter L Williamson¹, Housain Soufiani¹, Mahan Amirzadeh¹, Shaghayegh Rahimizadeh¹

Affiliation

¹ Pars Advanced and Minimally Invasive Medical Manners Research Center, Pars Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Thoracic spinal cord compression due to both ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is rare.

Case description: A 33-year-old male with AS presented with a paraparesis attributed to MR documented T9-T10 OLF/stenosis. He was successfully managed with a decompressive laminectomy; this resulted in marked improvement of his deficit.

Conclusion: Thoracic OLF and AS rarely contribute T9-T10 spinal cord compression that may be readily relieved with a decompressive laminectomy.

Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis; Myelopathy; Ossification of the ligamentum flavum; Thoracic spine.

Publication types

Case Reports