A Case of Osteopetrosis with Fracture of the Lumbar Neural Arch

Abstract

We treated an unusual case of osteopetrosis with pathological fractures of the lumbar neural arches.
A baby girl had been referred to us because of the left brachial plexus palsy on delivery and osteopetrosis had been diagnosed incidentally. When she was eleven, she complained of low back pain without apparent trauma. When she was fourteen, spondylolysis of L4 was diagnosed roentgenographically. Another spondylolysis occurred at L3 one year later, when she had fallen down and hit on her buttock. She has been free from fractures of long bones.
In order to examine the healing process of fractures in this patient, CT scans were employed as well as plain films. On CT films, bony callus was well identified, but was not dense enough and was somewhat irregular: bone union was not complete when most fractures were supposed to have healed.
In summary, it was suggested that there might be some defects in bone remodeling and that the healing process of bone fractures could be considerably slower in patients with osteopetrosis. CT examination was very useful to follow the healing process of fractures.