Recovery from White cord Syndrome after Anterior Cervical Corpectomy and Fusion: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: A new neurologic deficit after spine surgery is always the biggest surgeon's nightmare. Worsening of neurology post-operatively in the absence of obvious per operative injury and with no extrinsic cause, the deficit is attributable to be caused by reperfusion injury of the spinal cord called as white cord syndrome (WCS). Hereby, we report 1-year follow-up of a case attributed as WCS after anterior cervical corpectomy with complete recovery.

CASE REPORT: A 64-year-old female patient presented with C5 - C6 tubercular lesion with extradural compression with ASIA C grade, treated with C5 - C6 corpectomy with harm cage reconstruction and tissue biopsy. Acute neurologic deterioration of both upper and lower extremities (ASIA A grade) was found 4 h after the operation upon extubation. Emergent imaging revealed no extrinsic causes. Methylprednisolone was initiated with rehabilitation therapies; her neurological status improved dramatically with complete neurological recovery at 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION: New-onset neurologic deficit is always an unexpected complication. Early identification and correct treatments can avert incomplete spinal cord from permanent damage. Our experience in dealing with this patient and following up the case for nearly 1 year showed a good neurological recovery.