[Paraplegia with a cauda equina syndrome due to stenosis of the spinal canal caused by tabes arthropathy].

The authors present a case of cauda equina paraparesis due to compression by tabetic osteo-arthropathy. Diagnosis was confirmed by the typical clinical picture of tabes and by the history of a chancre 53 years earlier. Radiography of the spine showed vertibral osteo-arthropathy. Opaque contrast myelography showed compression at the D 11/D 12 and L 4/L 5 levels, with poor contrast filling athe the L 1/L 3 level. Surgical treatment by decompressive laminectomies from D 12 to L 4 led to a satisfactory result with motor recovery and regression of the cauda equina syndrome.