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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2016; 11(02): 180-181
DOI: 10.4103/1793-5482.145067
CASE REPORT

Ossification of ligamentum flavum, a rare cause of myelopathy: First case report of a Lebanese patient

Antonios El Helou
Departement of Neurosurgery, Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre, in Collaboration with Balamand University, Beirut
,
Moussa Alaywan
Departement of Neurosurgery, Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre, in Collaboration with Balamand University, Beirut
,
Antonio Tarabay
Departement of Neurosurgery, Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre, in Collaboration with Balamand University, Beirut
,
Antoine Nachanakian
Departement of Neurosurgery, Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre, in Collaboration with Balamand University, Beirut
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Ossification of ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a well-known pathology causing myelopathy, although it is a rare disease. The most commonly affected population is from the Far East and mainly Japanese. However, few reports and studies have shown the prevalence of the disease all over the world. We report the case of a 33-year-old man presenting with signs of progressive myelopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed Th2-Th11 OLF with severe narrowing and intramedullary hypersignal at the level Th2-Th3. This is the first Lebanese case reported in the literature. A decompressive laminectomy with flavectomy was done. This case adds to the previous reported cases on the occurrence of the disease in different populations.

Key-words:

Myelopathy - ossification of ligamentum flavum - thoracic spinal cord


Publication History

Article published online:
20 September 2022

© 2016. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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