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Peer-reviewedCC BYJournal of surgical case reports

Neurological deterioration after posterior decompression of an unrecognised calcified thoracic disc: recovery following endoscopic discectomy.

  • Ralph J Mobbs1,2,3,4
  • Edwin H Y Lui1,2,3,4
  • Joseph Reidy3,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, High St, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia.
  2. 2NeuroSpine Clinic, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Barker St, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
  3. 3NeuroSpine Surgery Research Group (NSURG), Barker St, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
  4. 4Department of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Barker St, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
  5. 5Department of Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, Barker St, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
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Abstract

Calcified thoracic disc herniation is uncommon but carries substantial operative risk. A 67-year-old man with 12 months of progressive myelopathy from a T7-T8 disc herniation underwent posterior laminectomy and instrumented fusion without preoperative computed tomography (CT). He developed near-complete paraplegia, with lower-limb power of Medical Research Council grade 0-1/5. Subsequent CT demonstrated a densely calcified ventral disc. Following transfer, full-endoscopic transforaminal discectomy was performed to address the ventral compression without spinal cord retraction. By three months after the revision procedure, power improved to grade 4-4+/5 and he regained ambulation using a walking frame. Thoracic disc herniations being considered for surgery should be characterised with CT as well as magnetic resonance imaging. Calcified lesions warrant subspecialty review and an approach that directly addresses the ventral pathology. In selected patients, endoscopic discectomy may achieve effective decompression with limited access morbidity.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{mobbs2026neurological,
  title = {{Neurological deterioration after posterior decompression of an unrecognised calcified thoracic disc: recovery following endoscopic discectomy.}},
  author = {Ralph J Mobbs and Edwin H Y Lui and Joseph Reidy},
  journal = {Journal of surgical case reports},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/jscr/rjag970},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948019},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Neurological deterioration after posterior decompression of an unrecognised calcified thoracic disc: recovery following endoscopic discectomy.
AU  - Ralph J Mobbs
AU  - Edwin H Y Lui
AU  - Joseph Reidy
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/27
JO  - Journal of surgical case reports
DO  - 10.1093/jscr/rjag970
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948019
AB  - Calcified thoracic disc herniation is uncommon but carries substantial operative risk. A 67-year-old man with 12 months of progressive myelopathy from a T7-T8 disc herniation underwent posterior laminectomy and instrumented fusion without preoperative computed tomography (CT). He developed near-complete paraplegia, with lower-limb power of Medical Research Council grade 0-1/5. Subsequent CT demonstrated a densely calcified ventral disc. Following transfer, full-endoscopic transforaminal discectomy was performed to address the ventral compression without spinal cord retraction. By three months after the revision procedure, power improved to grade 4-4+/5 and he regained ambulation using a walking frame. Thoracic disc herniations being considered for surgery should be characterised with CT as well as magnetic resonance imaging. Calcified lesions warrant subspecialty review and an approach that directly addresses the ventral pathology. In selected patients, endoscopic discectomy may achieve effective decompression with limited access morbidity.
SN  - 2042-8812
ER  -