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Lumbar disc herniation in teenagers

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Résumé

48 patients ont été opérés de hernie lombaire discale dans les deux premières décades de vie (âge 13–20), dans notre Division de Neurochirurgie. On a comparé les différences cliniques et chirurgicales entre les adultes et les enfants, nous avons étudié plus de 900 cas juvéniles en comparaison avec plus de 11000 cas adultes décrits dans la littérature. La douleur lombaire est plus fréquente entre les jeunes et est le premier symptôme à la diagnose tandis que les déficits moteurs et de la sensibilité ont la même fréquence entre les deux groupes d'âge. L'hernie L4–L5 et médiane est la plus fréquente entre les jeunes. Les résultats chirurgicaux à long terme sont meilleurs dans les enfants et les adolescents que dans les adultes.

Summary

We report 48 patients operated on for lumbar disc herniation in the second decade of life (aged 13–20 years) in our Neurosurgical Division. To analyze the clinical and diagnostic features and surgical outcome of the disease in teenagers and to point out any differences from adults, we made a detailed study of over 900 juvenile cases and compared them with 11000 adult cases reported in the literature. Low-back pain proved to be less frequent among youngsters both as a first symptom and at diagnosis, while sensorimotor deficits have the same frequency in the two age groups. Herniation occurs more often at L4–L5 and is more frequently median among teenagers. The long-term surgical results in children and adolescents are better than in adults.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Sciences and Neurosurgery, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Viale dell'Università 30/A, Rome, Italy

    Luigi Ferrante, Luciano Mastronardi, Pierpaolo Lunardi, Fabrizio Puzzilli & Aldo Fortuna

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  1. Luigi Ferrante
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  2. Luciano Mastronardi
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  3. Pierpaolo Lunardi
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  4. Fabrizio Puzzilli
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  5. Aldo Fortuna
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Ferrante, L., Mastronardi, L., Lunardi, P. et al. Lumbar disc herniation in teenagers. Eur Spine J 1, 25–28 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302138

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