European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
-
Comment on a case report on a challenging case of a severe spinal congenital deformity with a type I split spinal cord malformation (SSCM) in a 23-year-old with initial neurological symptoms. ⋯ In conclusion, despite a quite clear recommendation in the current literature to first surgically address the type 1 SSCM prior to correction of any spinal deformity, the authors of the present case chose to leave the bony spur. Still it remains to be seen if in this very case the spur will become clinically apparent in the future or not. As long as larger studies on curve correction without spur resection in SSCM are not available, spur resection prior to any type of curve correction remains the golden standard.