No shinkei geka. Neurological surgery
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Postoperative spondylodiscitis (POD) is a rare but severe complication of lumbar disc surgery. There were five patients with POD among 875 patients undergoing surgery for herniated lumbar discs, in the last 16 years. For detecting risk factor of discitis, a POD group of 5 patients was matched to a control group of 870 patients with respect to sex, age, disc type and operation. ⋯ T2-weighted image showed iso signal intensity in L5 and S1 vertebral bodies. Gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted image had mild homogenous enhancement in the posteroinferior portion of the L5 vertebral body. Three months after treatment of POD, there was major signal change in neither T1 nor T2 weighted images, though T2 showed subtle abnormalities with decreased signal intensity adjacent to the L5/S1 disc space.