Lumbar disc herniation in children and adolescents. A review of 70 operated cases and their minimum 5-year follow-up studies.

Seventy cases of surgically documented herniated lumbar disc in children and adolescents were analyzed. Twenty-six of the 70 cases were followed at least five years postoperatively. The incidence of juvenile disc herniation in Japanese patients appear to be much higher than in Caucasians. Repeated trauma may be an important etiological factor of herniated lumbar disc in this age group. The history and physical findings in children and adolescents are not fundamentally different from those in the adult, although abnormal neurological findings are not common. Five-year follow-up studies suggest that interlaminal laminectomy without fusion is the best procedure when surgical treatment of herniated lumbar disc is necessary in children and adolescents.