Diastematomyelia presenting with no pain in a 53-year-old man: A case report

Abstract

Initial presentation of diastematomyelia is rarely seen in adults. The purpose of this case report is to present a case of clinically silent diastematomyelia unrecognized into adulthood and review of the literature. A 53-year-old Persian man was admitted to our hospital with gait disturbance, weakness of the right lower extremity, sensory loss of the left and right lower extremity of two weeks' duration, with no pain or sphincter dysfunction. The patient underwent radiological examinations, and diastematomyelia was diagnosed. The deteriorating condition of our patient led to the decision to perform a surgery. A laminectomy was performed from L-3 to L-5 with resection of the soft-tissue mass and excision of the bony spur, and the patient was followed for 6 months. Postoperatively, the patient did not show new neurologic deficit and he returned to work 4 months after surgery. Our case was unique because of the absence of any pain, neurologic signs, and precipitating acute event leading to diagnosis, until 53 years of age. Surgical decompression of bony spur provided relative improvement of his symptoms. © 2013, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal.