Symptomatic congenital spinal stenosis in a child.

A case of congenital lumbar stenosis producing lower extremity spasticity and bladder dysfunction in a young child is presented. Myelography demonstrated a marked stenosis of the spinal canal at L-2, L-3, and decompressive laminectomy resulted in a marked improvement in symptoms. A discussion of lumbar stenosis in general illustrates that is is extremely rare for this condition to become symptomatic during childhood. The literature on congenital lumbar stenosis is reviewed.