Pure Foraminal-typed Cervical Disc Herniation : Case Presentation and Review of Literature

Objectives: Cervical intervertebral foramen is constituted by Luschka's joint, anterior surface of the facet joint, inferior and superior surface of the pedicle. Anatomically, protrusion of cervical disc material to the intervertebral foramen is quite rare and difficult to be diagnosed by usual routine sagittal MRI in cervical spine. We experienced a case of "pure foraminal-typed" cervical disc herniation surgically treated by trans-vertebral approach. Case presentations : A 53 years old male patient suffered from severe radiculopathy in his right upper extremity. Initial cervical sagittal MRI in other hospital could detect only slight canal stenosis in his cervical spine. Two months after the onset of symptom, he admitted to our hospital and "pure foraminal-typed" disc herniation in his right C6/7 cervical region was diagnosed by axial high-resolusion MRI. He was surgically treated with transvertebral approach. After the removal of disc herniation, his pain complaint was dramatically reduced and returned to the usual work. Conclusions : Trans-vertebral approach is less invasive and quite usuful in "pure foraminal-typed " cervical disc herniation