Ossification of the cervical ligamentum flavum
Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) typically occurs in adults involving the thoracolumbar spine. It is less frequently encountered in the cervical region (<1%) 1) 2). In 1962, Koizumi described cervical OLF at autopsy in a 55-year-old male who had developed progressive quadriparesis 3). Since then only 68 more cases of cervical OLF have been published, typically involving the East Asian populations presenting varying degrees of myelopathy.
1)
Miyazawa N, Akiyama I. Ossification of the ligamentum flavum of the cervical spine. J Neurosurg Sci. 2007 Sep;51(3):139-44. PMID: 17641578.
2)
Sonntag VK. Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF): an increasing cause of cervical myelopathy. World Neurosurg. 2011 Mar-Apr;75(3-4):445-6. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.12.022. PMID: 21600492.
3)
Koizumi M. Three cases of spinal cord paralysis proved by ligamenta flava ossification. Rinsho-Geka (Clin Surg) 1962;17:1181–8.