Pediatric pathology all grown up – An interesting case of adult tethered spinal cord

BACKGROUND: Cervical myelopathy in an adult is typically the result of degenerative disease or trauma. Dysraphism is rarely the cause. CASE DESCRIPTION: The authors report the case of a 35-year-old male drywall installer who presented with 2 years of progressive left upper extremity weakness, numbness, and hand clumsiness. Only upon detailed questioning did he mention that he had neck surgery just after birth, but he did not know what was done. He then also reported that he routinely shaved a patch of lower back hair, but denied bowel, bladder, or lower extremity dysfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine demonstrated T2 hyperintensity at C4-C5 with dorsal projection of the neural elements into the subcutaneous tissues concerning for a retethered cervical myelomeningocele. Lumbar imaging revealed a diastematomyelia at L4. He underwent surgical intervention for detethering and repaired of the cervical myelomeningocele. Four months postoperatively, he had almost complete resolution of symptoms, and imaging showed a satisfactory detethering. The diastematomyelia remained asymptomatic and is being observed. CONCLUSION: Tethered cervical cord is a rare cause for myelopathy in the adult patient. In the symptomatic patient, surgical repair with detethering is indicated to prevent disease progression and often results in clinical improvement.