Affiliation:
1. Instituto de Neurologia de Curitiba, Brazil
2. Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Bertolotti's syndrome is a spine disorder characterized by the occurrence of a congenital lumbar transverse mega-apophysis in a transitional vertebral body that usually articulates with the sacrum or the iliac bone. It has been considered a possible cause of low back pain. METHOD: We analyzed the cases of Bertolotti's syndrome that failed clinical treatment and reviewed the literature concerning this subject. RESULTS: Five patients in our series had severe low back pain due to the neo-articulation and two of them were successfully submitted to surgical resection of the transverse mega-apophysis. Taking into account the clinical and surgical experience acquired with these cases, we propose a diagnostic-therapeutic algorithm. CONCLUSION: There is still no consensus about the most appropriate therapy for Bertolotti's syndrome. In patients in whom the mega-apophysis itself may be the source of back pain, surgical resection may be a safe and effective procedure.
Subject
Neurology,Clinical Neurology
Reference27 articles.
1. Partial lumbosacral transitional vertebra resection for contralateral facetogenic pain;Brault JS;Spine,2001
2. Bertolotti's syndrome revisited. Transitional vertebrae of the lumbar spine;Elster AD;Spine,1989
3. Contributo alla conoscenza dei vizi di differenzazione regionale del rachide con speciale riguardo all assimilazione sacrale della v. lombare;Bertolotti M;Radiol Med,1917
4. Review article. Can an anomalous lumbo-sacral or lumbo-iliac articulation cause low back pain?: A retrospective study of 12 cases;Avimadje M;Rev Rhum Engl Ed,1999
5. Bertolotti's syndrome: a cause of back pain in young people;Quinlan JF;J Bone Joint Surg,2006
Cited by
51 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献