Systemic mastocytosis presenting with severe spinal osteopenia and multiple compression fractures.

Systemic mastocytosis is a rare condition in which mast cells infiltrate various organs, including the skeleton. Because the mast cell secretes various bioactive substances that may induce bone resorption, this condition may cause generalized osteoporosis. We describe a case of a 28-year-old woman who presented with a painful thoracolumbar kyphosis due to generalized osteopenia and multiple pathological compression fractures and was found to have mastocytosis. She underwent operative stabilization of her kyphotic deformity with anterior interbody fusion and posterior Cotrel-Dubousset (CD) instrumentation and fusion. We conclude that mastocytosis should be suspected in an atypical case of so-called idiopathic osteoporosis.