Complete, Sustained Resolution of Pain With Pseudoarthrectomy for Bertolotti Syndrome: A Case Report
Publication Date
4-1-2025
Journal
Pain Medicine Case Reports
PMID
40331807
Abstract
Background: Bertolotti syndrome, characterized by lumbar pain due to a lumbosacral (LS) transitional vertebra, is a known but still controversial and overlooked pain generator despite an explosion of information on the condition in the last decade. Current management includes plain radiography, advanced imaging, minimally invasive interventions, and LS fusion.
Case report: We present a unique case of a middle-aged man with Castellvi IIa Bertolotti syndrome consisting of a unilateral enlarged, dysplastic L5 transverse process forming a pseudoarticulation (PA) with the ilium and normal anatomy contralaterally. He was diagnosed on a plain radiograph and following a diagnostic injection of the PA, he received complete, sustained pain relief from a pseudoarthrectomy.
Conclusions: This case illustrates an economical and thoughtful approach to diagnosis and management that may offer pain relief rather than invasive management with surgical fusion that comes with its own morbidity and mortality and consequences, such as adjacent-level disease.
Keywords
Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Lumbar Vertebrae, Low Back Pain, Syndrome, Bertolotti syndrome, case report, low back pain, lumbosacral transitional vertebra, pseudoarticulation, transverse process
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Emanuel Narcis Husu, Nirav Parekh, and Jeremy I Simon, "Complete, Sustained Resolution of Pain With Pseudoarthrectomy for Bertolotti Syndrome: A Case Report" (2025). Faculty and Staff Publications. 6001.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/6001