Background:
Brown-Séquard syndrome encompasses a range of clinical manifestations resulting from spinal cord hemisection, which can be attributed to various etiologies, including both traumatic and non-traumatic causes such as ischemia, inflammation, tumors, infections, or idiopathic origins.
Results:
A 38-year-old female with past medical history of polycystic ovary syndrome and asthma
presented to the emergency department with approximately 3 weeks of progressive neck pain,
right upper extremity weakness, and 10 days of left sided upper extremity paresthesia. Her
examination was notable for motor weakness 4/5 in right upper extremity and otherwise normal
in other extremities, and her sensation was intact to light touch but with reduced sensation to
pinprick and temperature on her entire left hemi body. The MRI of her cervical spine showed a
large right central, right paracentral disc protrusion at the C3-C4 level, with associated severe
spinal canal narrowing at this level and abnormal cord signal. Following consultation with the
neurosurgical team, the patient underwent a C3-C4 discectomy, decompression, and disc
replacement in the operating room.
Conclusions:
We present a rare case of Brown-Séquard syndrome, which is frequently overlooked or diagnosed late due to the traditional teaching that associates this syndrome primarily with traumatic causes. This case highlights a non-traumatic cause of Brown-Séquard syndrome due to cervical disc herniation.