• Sonia G Teufack, Harminder Singh, James Harrop, and John Ratliff.
• Department of Neurological Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 909 Walnut Street, 3rd floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. sonigary@gmail.com
• J Spinal Cord Med. 2010 Jan 1; 33 (3): 268-71.

Background/ObjectiveIntervertebral disk herniation is relatively common. Migration usually occurs in the ventral epidural space; rarely, disks migrate to the dorsal epidural space due to the natural anatomical barriers of the thecal sac.DesignCase report.FindingsA 49-year-old man presented with 1 week of severe back pain with bilateral radiculopathy to the lateral aspect of his lower extremities and weakness of the ankle dorsiflexors and toe extensors. Lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium revealed a peripheral enhancing dorsal epidural lesion with severe compression of the thecal sac. Initial differential diagnosis included spontaneous hematoma, synovial cyst, and epidural abscess. Posterior lumbar decompression was performed; intraoperatively, the lesion was identified as a large herniated disk fragment.ConclusionsDorsal migration of a herniated intervertebral disk is rare and may be difficult to definitively diagnose preoperatively. Dorsal disk migration may present in a variety of clinical scenarios and, as in this case, may mimic other epidural lesions on magnetic resonance imaging.

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