Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) was used to treat lower extremity spasticity in an ambulatory 7-year-old girl with a history of a T10 spinal lipoma. The spasticity was the result of an AIS D spinal cord injury (SCI) suffered during untethering surgery at age 2 years. After SDR and a course of intensive inpatient rehabilitation, the patient's gait improved markedly. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published case of SDR as a treatment for spasticity in a patient with a spinal lipomatous malformation.
Keywords: Selective dorsal rhizotomy; spasticity; spinal cord injury; spinal lipomatous malformation.