Paraplegia of late onset in adolescents with healed childhood caries of dorsal spine: A cause of pressure on the cord and treatment

Paraplegia of late onset in adolescents with caries of dorsal spine is considered to be due to the reactivation of infection. Internal salient at the level of acute kyphotic deformity of the dorsal spine is formed by posterior cartilaginous remains of grossly destroyed vertebral bodies. The author presents a study of eight adolescent patients with paraplegia of late onset associated with severe kyphotic deformity of dorsal spine with observations on the cause of paraplegia, the final neurological outcome following anterior decompression and its prevention.