Metal hypersensitivity in patient with posterior lumbar spine fusion: a case report and its literature review

BACKGROUND: Metal hypersensitivity, mostly documented in prosthesis implantation, is a rare complication after arthroplasty. Such cases become rarer and more difficult to diagnose when it comes to lumbar surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 52-year-old female patient with reoccured low back pain and sciatica after posterior lumbar decompression and fusion (PLDF) for her lumbar disc herniation. The initial clinical and radiological examinations showed no pathologies. Further imaging and histopathological studies in later period revealed an aseptic loosening of the hardware and an aseptic inflammatory response which was diagnosed to be metal hypersensitivity. To our knowledge, few allergic cases in the matter of spinal fusion were reported so far. CONCLUSIONS: Metal hypersensitivity after spinal fusion should be considered in patients with representation of postoperative back pain. And elaborate history taking would conduce a lot to it’s diagnose. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-314) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.