Ossified ligamentum flavum causing spinal cord compression in a patient with acromegaly

Abstract

Acromegaly is a relatively rare neuroendocrine disorder associated with diffuse hypertrophy of bony and soft tissues due to growth hormone hypersecretion from a pituitary adenoma. Acromegaly can also cause numerous pathological changes in the spine, including degenerative osteoarticular disease, axial arthropathy, spinal stenosis, vertebral fracture and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (Forestier’s disease). Ossified ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a rare disorder that often presents as thoracic spinal stenosis, but to our knowledge has never been described in patients with acromegaly. Previously, no link has been established between these two entities. We present, to our knowledge, the first reported case of OLF in a patient with acromegaly who presented with thoracic spinal cord compression. OLF is a potential spinal manifestation of acromegaly and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of spinal stenosis or spinal cord compression in the context of growth hormone hypersecretion.