A vascular cause of painful lumbar transverse syndrome

Despite typical signs of Leriche syndrome, this patient was misdiagnosed with disk prolapse. Vascular insufficiency, such as aortic occlusion, may underlie a motor-sensory deficit in the lower extremities.

Case report.

A 67-year-old woman was admitted for cramping pain in the lumbar spine, hips, and legs; diffuse weakness and sensory disturbances of both legs for weeks; and a cold feeling and livid colorization of the legs. Her complaints were attributed to a disk prolapse L5/S1, for which she underwent immediate laminectomy. Postoperatively, symptoms and signs were aggravated, abdominal pain developed, and C-reactive protein and creatinine were elevated. On the fourth postoperative day, femoral pulses were no longer palpable, anuria developed, and computed tomographry angiography showed occlusion of the abdominal aorta distal to the superior mesenteric artery and absent kidney perfusion. The patient died one day later. Postmortem review showed a visible intra-aortic mass on the previous lumbar magnetic resonance image.

The differential diagnosis of painful lumbar transverse syndrome should include vascular disease. Misinterpretation of a Leriche syndrome as a disk prolapse has not been reported.