Anterior Cervical Spinal Cord Tethering after Anterior Spinal Surgery: Case Report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE:This is the first reported case of anterior cervical spinal cord tethering after anterior spinal surgery. A mechanistic hypothesis is presented to explain the observed phenomenon. CLINICAL PRESENTATION:A patient developed cervical myelopathy 2 years after multiple anterior cervical discectomies complicated by cerebrospinal fluid leakage. She demonstrated reflex and motor changes as well as neuropathic pain. INTERVENTION:An anterior corpectomy was performed, with opening of the dura and detethering of an arachnoid band and then fusion and plating. CONCLUSION:Reflex and motor changes improved, but pain did not. We hypothesize that mechanical deformation and scar formation after cerebrospinal fluid leakage may have led to tethering of the spinal cord.

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