Intravertebral disc herniation is common in adults, often due to degenerative processes. The occurrence of disc herniation is rare in children and is usually related to traumatic injury. The authors present an unusual case of a 13-month-old boy with L5–S1 lumbar disc herniation. The disc was removed via a unilateral partial hemilaminectomy approach, sparing the spinal midline structural elements. Although rare, lumbar disc herniation should be in the differential diagnosis for children presenting with low-back pain and/or neurological deficit of the lower limbs.

The authors report an unusual case of a huge intraparenchymal cyst in a 4-year-old girl caused by Taenia multiceps infection. After surgical removal of the cyst, the child recovered completely. Brain infestation by coenurus is a rare disease, mainly reported in Africa, with a few case reports from patients in developed countries. Humans, especially young children, become intermediate hosts by ingesting eggs passed in the excrement of a definitive host, usually carnivores. In such cases, high mortality and morbidity rates have been reported. These rates decreased after the introduction of the modem neuroradiological techniques of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.