Background and importance:

Lumbar hyperlordosis in ambulatory children is an uncommon but potentially problematic spinal deformity, and the operative management has not been comprehensively described.

Clinical presentation:

We report the case of a 14-yr-old girl presenting with severe progressive lumbar hyperlordosis (-122°) and sagittal imbalance (-6 cm). She had multiple prior surgeries, including myelomeningocele repair at 10 d old, midlumbar meningioma resection at 8 mo old, and posterior lumbar instrumented spinal fusion at 5 yr old. She presented with progressive lumbosacral back pain and intermittent numbness in her left lower extremity, and severe skin contractures over her prior posterior incisions. From an all posterior approach, prior implants and dural scar were removed and then an L5 vertebral column resection (VCR) was performed to disarticulate her lumbar spine from her anteverted pelvis, allowing for slow distraction forces to correct her lumbar hyperlordosis. This was followed by a T7-sacrum fusion using pedicle screws and iliac screws, with autologous bone graft and plastic surgery wound closure. Postoperatively, lumbar lordosis was corrected to -55° and sagittal balance reduced to -0.5 cm. At 10-wk and 14-mo follow-ups, the patient reported resolution of her back pain with no limitations in physical activities. Dramatic improvement was seen in both her preoperative to 14-mo postoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) (54 to 12) and Scoliosis Research Society Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)-22r (54 to 93) scores.

Conclusion:

This case highlights a rare presentation of severe progressive lumbar hyperlordosis in an ambulatory adolescent after myelomeningocele repair, meningioma resection, and posterior lumbar instrumented spinal fusion with subsequent surgical treatment incorporating important components of both spinal and plastic surgery involvement.