Lumbar disc herniation in early childhood: case report and literature review

Abstract

Introduction: Lumbar disc herniation is a common condition in adults, uncommon in adolescents and exceptional below the age of 10 years.

Case report: We report on a 6-year-old boy who presented with low-back pain and sciatica after having sustained an injury in a rear-end automobile accident. Due to our limited experience with protruded discs in this age group, we decided to be conservative initially. However, the persistence of incapacitating pain prompted surgical treatment. Operative findings consisted of a torn annulus, attached at one end to the cartilaginous plate, which formed a major portion of the extruded L5-S1 disc.

Discussion: A search of the literature yielded only four cases of lumbar disc (L4-5) protrusions in patients aged 9 years or younger. The child described here is one of the youngest patients with a lumbar disc rupture to be reported in the literature, and the first with an L5-S1 traumatic herniation.