OBJECTIVETo retrospectively review the clinical features and treatment strategy of lumbar disc herniation in adolescents initially misdiagnosed as idiopathic scoliosis.

METHODSFrom 1998 to 2007, nineteen adolescents with lumbar disc herniation were admitted to our hospital. All of them presented a scoliotic curve as their first complaint. There were 10 males and 9 females with the age ranged from 14 to 20 years. The disc herniation located at L(4,5) in 10 patients, at L(5)S(1) in 7, and at L(4)-S(1) in 2. The Cobb angle ranged from 23 degrees to 38 degrees . The distance from the C(7) plumb line to the central sacral line averaged 4.7 cm. All the patients underwent conventional open discectomy, followed by a pelvic traction for 3 weeks. A cast fixation for one month was recommended for further correction of scoliosis if the curve improvement was not obvious.

RESULTSFourteen (73.7%) patients had a disc herniation at the convex side of lumbar curve, and 5 (26.3%) patients had a disc herniation at the concave side, which showed a marginal statistical correlation between the side of the disc herniation and the direction of lumbar curve (P = 0.07). Leg pain and numbness disappeared in the 19 patients after surgical decompression. After the pelvic traction for 3 weeks postoperatively, the Cobb angle reduced to 14 degrees, with the mean distance from the C(7) plumb line to the central sacral line of 2.2 cm. At a mean follow-up of 21 months, neither the recurrence of back pain and leg pain nor the loss of spontaneous scoliosis correction was found.

CONCLUSIONSCare should be taken to the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation in adolescents with spine deformity as their chief complaint. Satisfactory clinical results can be achieved by early diagnosis and proper treatment.