Abstract

TRAUMATIC LUMBAR FRACTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A THORACIC SPINAL CORD INJURY WITHOUT RADIOLOGIC ABNORMALITY: A CASE REPORT AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Firass El Hajj (MD)*, Guillaume Riouallon (MD), Walid Kheir Eddine (MD), Hassane Kheir Eddine (PT, MS, DPT), Khodor Haidar Hassan (MD / PhD) and Hugues Pascal-Moussellard (MD / PhD)

ABSTRACT

A case of complete paraplegia due to a T8 spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality (SCIWORA) associated with a L3 vertebral fracture is presented. SCIWORA is a rare injury, most frequently seen in the pediatric age group. Some cases have been published on SCIWORA of the adult cervical spine but cases of adult thoracic spine are extremely rare and very few cases have been published. Noncontiguous spinal fractures and isolated SCIWORA of the thoracic spine have been described in literature. An association of a spinal cord section with a distant fracture has been described in the cervical spine but not in the thoracic and lumbar spine. A rare case of a lumbar fracture associated with a thoracic spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality has been presented. The mechanism is most probably a traction injury due to hyperflexion of the spine.

Keywords: Vertebral fracture; paraplegia; thoracic spine; spinal cord section.