HERNIATED DISC AND CONGENITAL SPINAL STEN OSIS IN THE ADOLESCENT

Purpose of the study The goal of this study was to demonstrate the rel ationship between herniated discs and congenital spinal stenosis, A re trospective study was conducted on patients seen in our center over a five year period. Material and methods The CT-Scan evaluation was esse ntial for the measurement of tt-ie diameter of the spinal canal. Data were compared with the values obtained in ten normal subjects. Results Twelve complete charts of adolescents with herniated discs were revie wed and in all cases a spinal stenosis was established. The mean diame ter of the canal was 8.1 mm for the patient group compared with 18.1 m m for the control group. Conclusion The relationship of herniated disc s and spinal stenosis found here is greater than the one reported in t he literature, This relationship accounts for the importance of neurol ogical (9/12 patients) involvement found in our series in comparison w ith adults. This also explains the failure of conservative treatment.