Spinal cord compression in Paget's disease due to extradural pagetic ossification

Abstract

Neurological complications resulting from single vertebral involvement have been described but the condition is usually asymptomatic (Dinneen & Buckley, 1987). The mechanisms for neurological involvement include compression of the spinal cord by bony expansion from the pagetic process, vertebral collapse with haemorrhage, or neoplastic degeneration (Resnick, 1988). Other non-compressive vascular causes have also been described (Herzberg & Bayliss, 1980; Douglas et al, 1981). We describe a case of severe spinal cord compression secondary to Paget's disease, as a result of extradural pagetic ossification of the ligamentum flavum and epidural fat, with the actual bony spinal canal being of normal size.