SPINAL TUBERCULOSIS WITH CIRCUMFERENTIAL INVOLVEMENT OF 2 NONCONTIGUOUS ISOLATED VERTEBRAL LEVELS - CASE-REPORT

WE PRESENT A case of a 16-year-old boy with an atypical form of spinal tuberculosis, which circumferentially involved two noncontiguous vert ebral levels without destruction of the adjacent vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs. The lesions: caused paraplegia and loss of sphin cter control, and they were confined to a single vertebra at each site ; the findings more closely mimicked spinal malignancies. There was no evidence oi pulmonary or other extrapulmonary tuberculous disease. Th e patient was successfully treated both surgically and medically using posterior decompression;;nd a stabilizing procedure in combination wi th postoperative antituberculous therapy. Magnetic resonance Imaging p layed a major role in determining the extent of the disease and the ty pe of surgical procedure and in monitoring adequate medical treatment.