STUDY DESIGN: Case report and clinical discussion. OBJECTIVE: To describe a rare case of intradural cervical disc herniation in a patient with Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: KFS is a congenital spinal malformation characterized by the failure in segmentation of 2 or more cervical vertebrae. The development of a cervical disc herniation in a nonfused segment is uncommon. Intradural disc herniation is rare, with only 21 cases reported in the cervical region. METHODS: We present a case of a 52-year-old woman with KFS (C5-C6 fusion) who developed acute radiculopathy secondary to an intradural cervical disc herniation. Neurologic examination revealed a mild (Grade 3/5) decrease in motor function of the fingers and difficulty in performing fine motor tasks with right hand. RESULTS: The patient underwent microsurgical removal of the herniated disc via an anterior approach followed by interbody fixation and anterior plating; exploration of the surgical field revealed 2 intradural disc fragments. After surgery, she experienced a complete remission of the symptoms. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first case of intradural cervical disc herniation in a KFS patient described in the literature.
STUDY DESIGN: Case report and clinical discussion. OBJECTIVE: To describe a rare case of intradural cervical disc herniation in a patient with Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: KFS is a congenital spinal malformation characterized by the failure in segmentation of 2 or more cervical vertebrae. The development of a cervical disc herniation in a nonfused segment is uncommon. Intradural disc herniation is rare, with only 21 cases reported in the cervical region. METHODS: We present a case of a 52-year-old woman with KFS (C5-C6 fusion) who developed acute radiculopathy secondary to an intradural cervical disc herniation. Neurologic examination revealed a mild (Grade 3/5) decrease in motor function of the fingers and difficulty in performing fine motor tasks with right hand. RESULTS: The patient underwent microsurgical removal of the herniated disc via an anterior approach followed by interbody fixation and anterior plating; exploration of the surgical field revealed 2 intradural disc fragments. After surgery, she experienced a complete remission of the symptoms. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first case of intradural cervical disc herniation in a KFSpatient described in the literature.