Lumbar nerve root "walled" by a calcified herniated mass in a young patient

INTRODUCTION: Discal calcification in childhood is rare. Calcifications are occasionally discovered during routine examinations, especially in the cervical spine. Generally, the calcification process is confined to the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc. CASE REPORT: In this report, we describe the case of a 16-year-old girl who presented with acute low back pain, right S1 radiculopathy and a history of increasing paresthesia. The patient underwent a CT scan, which demonstrated a postero-lateral calcified disc hernia at the L5-S1 level. The surgical decompression of the lumbar nerve root was carried out; at the operation it was observed that the nerve root was "walled" into the calcified hernia. DISCUSSION: Only a few cases with evidence of calcification of the herniated portion of the disc have been previously described. In none of them was the phenomenon was so pronounced that it sealed the nerve root completely.