PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ameya S. Kamat
AU  - Mohammed Zahier Ebrahim
AU  - Adriaan J. Vlok
TI  - Thoracic disc herniation: An unusual complication after prone positioning in spinal surgery
AID  - 10.14444/3039
DP  - 2016 Jan 01
TA  - International Journal of Spine Surgery
PG  - 39
VI  - 10
4099  - http://ijssurgery.com//content/10/39.short
4100  - http://ijssurgery.com//content/10/39.full
SO  - Int J Spine Surg2016 Jan 01; 10
AB  - Neurological complications of the prone position have been well documented. Post-operative paraplegia and neurological deterioration unrelated to the site of surgery after proning in spinal surgery is a rare but potentially devastating complication. We describe the case of a 47 year old female who underwent an L4/5 discectomy and posterior instrumented fusion. A few hours after surgery she developed bilateral lower limb weakness with a T11 sensory level. Post-operative MRI revealed an acute disc herniation at the T11/12 level with associated spinal cord compression. This was not present on the pre-operative imaging. A subsequent T11/12 discectomy and instrumented fusion was performed and the patient's motor and sensory function returned to normal.