2014-02-21


In a rare case a young girl's back problem was diagnosed through thick hair that was growing on her back. According to experts this thick back growth hair is a sign of spinal injury, and is a sign that there are many back issues that could be occurring.

The 3 year old young girl was taken to the doctor to get the course back hair removed.

After she was born magnetic resonance imaging had shown that she had serious spinal problems. Her spinal cord had split, something that is known in the medical world as diastematomyelia , she also had a fluid cyst in her spinal cord as well. Some of her spinal fluids had already begun to leak out to the surface of her skin.

At 4 days old the child had been subject to surgery in order to stop the spinal fluid leaking. At 7 months old, she went back into surgery to repair the other spinal problems that she had.

The condition of the girl is known as occult spinal dysraphism. This is when spine malformations are hidden from plain view, but through skin markings that would otherwise look unrelated, can be diagnosed. Professional pediatricians understand the dangers and that the markings on the child's back can be markings of potential spinal problems. These markings can include everything from excessive hair, thin skin, dimples, or small skin appendages that may look a bit like a tail. Apparently about 80 percent of children who have occult spinal dysraphism have some type of skin marking on them.

These malformations are due to many problems within the body structure, these include nerve damage, muscle, skin, bone, and other problems that occur thanks to the spinal issues. This is why most of the issues can be seen at the skins surface. According to Dr. Toba Niazi, "It's a malformation of the whole way the spine and skin is formed in the affected area."

According to Doctor Ahmad Latefi, an attending neurosurgeon who is currently at North Shore-Long Island Jewish's Cushing Neuroscience Institute In Manhattan, NY hair growth on the back is what is known as a classic sign of a split spinal cord.

However, according to Niazi, if the split spinal cord is not treated properly and early on in life, it can cause many neurological problems and musculoskeletal deformities.

These things do need to be checked out if found on children. While it is common to have a split spinal cord with these problems, other problems can develop like they did in the girl. These problems include leakage of the spinal fluid, which is a much more dangerous problem than the split spinal cord. The split spinal cord will usually not cause any symptoms, so people are generally not aware that they have the problem. In comparison spinal fluid leakage can lead to many dangerous and hazardous health problems in the future.

The three year old girl has successfully recovered from surgery. According to the researchers at National Tawain University Hospital she has had no difficulty walking.