Lumbosciatica revealing a rare case of congenital spinal fusion in an adult: review of the literature

Abstract

Congenital lumbar spinal fusion is a rare etiology of lumbar spinal pain. This fusion can occur at any level of the spine; however, lumbar location is very rare. We report a rare case of complete congenital spinal fusion discovered incidentally in a 36-year-old patient who presented with right lumbosciatica, followed by a review of the literature. A 36-year-old man, with no specific pathological history, presented with low back pain. Neurological examination was normal, otherwise he had a flat back. The CT scan of the lumbar spine showed a complete fusion of the L4/L5 lumbar vertebrae. Medical treatment combined with physiotherapy resulted in good clinical improvement. We can say that congenital spinal fusion remains a rare etiology of chronic lumbar spinal pain. Hence the interest to perform a lumbar imaging before any lumbar symptomatology to search for a cause.