SPINAL-CORD COMPRESSION IN PAGETS-DISEASE DUE TO EXTRADURAL PAGETIC OSSIFICATION

Neurological complications resulting from single vertebral involvement have been described but the condition is usually asymptomatic (Dinneen and 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 and 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.