Rationale:
Severe post-laminectomy spinal deformity associated with late-onset paraplegia is a complex and rare disorder. Little is known about revision surgery in post-laminectomy rotokyphoscoliosis associated with late-onset paraplegia treated by the single stage posterior-only vertebral column resection (VCR) procedure.
Patient concerns and diagnoses:
The patient was a 14-year-old male diagnosed as post-laminectomy rotokyphoscoliosis associated with late-onset paraplegia. He underwent posterior total laminectomy through the thoracic spine for intramedullary spinal cord tumors at the age of 3 years in another hospital. He then developed kyphosis deformity 1 year after laminectomy, and underwent posterior spinal fusion without instrumentation at 9 years of age. However, the deformity gradually progressed over the years. Seven months before admission to our hospital, he developed a significant progression of neurological deficits, including weakness of strength and sensation in lower extremities bilaterally, with no bladder or bowel dysfunction. There was no improvement of spinal cord function with conservative measures, and he required a wheelchair for movement.
Interventions:
The patient underwent posterior-only VCR by single stage with the purposes of spinal cord decompression and spinal deformity correction.
Outcomes:
Postoperatively, he was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) and required positive pressure ventilation support to improve his respiratory condition. The child experienced cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF) which resulted in an unplanned return to the operating room. The neurological function improved from preoperative Frankel C to Frankel D within 12 months of surgery, and recovered completely to Frankel E by 18 months. At the 24 month follow-up, the good neurological function was maintained; pulmonary function tests (PFTs) revealed improved forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume for 1 second (FEV1). The patient's coronal major curve and sagittal kyphosis were corrected from 70° to 21°, and 170° to 75°, respectively.
Lessons:
These findings demonstrated that single-stage posterior-only VCR is efficacious but challenging for revision surgery in post-laminectomy rotokyphoscoliosis associated with late-onset paraplegia.