Lumbar disc excision in the second decade

Of a series of 1200 consecutive cases of lumbar disc excisions from a general neurosurgical service, 1% of the patients were between the ages of 13 and 18 and 3.7% between 13 and 21. Differences in the clinical picture between adolescents and adults are emphasized. They include a higher ratio of males, a high frequency of radicular pain, a frequent history of trauma, and a lack of neurologic deficit, the latter being particularly striking among the younger patients. There was often a delay between the onset of pain and surgical treatment. This is attributed to a reluctance to consider this diagnosis in young people and to the frequent lack of neurologic deficit. Since the results are often excellent in this age group, early surgical treatment. is advocated.