Cervical Disc Calcification in Children. A Long-Term Review

Cervical intervertebral disc calcification with extreme lateral herniation in a child: T2-weighted signal intensity of the involved disc can be restored to normal

“…The most likely reason for this condition is thought to be the presence and limitation of cervical uncovertebral joints. There are still many other associated changes including flattening, wedging and irregularity of adjacent vertebral body; increasing disc space; endplate sclerosis; ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament and pharyngeal edema [1,2,6,8,11,14,15,17,22].…”

Conservative Treatment for Cervical Radiculopathy Due to Extensive Foraminal Disc Calcification in Children

“…The cause of intervertebral disc calcification in children is unknown. Trauma is suspected 6,11,17,18,23 , but cases with no trauma 3,24 and a newborn case 25 have also been reported. An inflammatory or infectious mechanism has also been proposed 3,6,15 .…”

“…Therefore, surgical treatment is reserved for rare cases presenting with severe radicular pain, muscle weakness, or myelopathy due to nerve-root or spinal cord compression [12][13][14] . Surgery has been performed because of progressive neurologic deficits, including myelopathy, in several cases of intervertebral disc calcification 12,[15][16][17][18] , with reports that the outcomes after surgical treatment were more favorable than those after conservative treatment 13,19,20 .…”

Intervertebral disc calcification in children: Case description and review of relevant literature

“…In most cases, intervertebral disc calcifications within the cervical spine do not evoke clinical symptoms [5–7] and are diagnosed in an incidental manner upon X-ray examinations performed for other reasons [8]. The patient described in this study was presented at the physician’s office due to pain symptoms and torticollis.…”