Chronic spinal cord injury in a patient with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome: Long-term rehabilitation challenges.

CONTEXT: Spinal involvement in Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is uncommon, and long-term outcomes after extensive spinal surgery remain poorly characterized.

FINDINGS: A 64-year-old man with KTS developed progressive myelopathy and chronic incomplete thoracic spinal cord injury from an intraspinal vascular lesion causing cord compression. He underwent embolization, decompression, lesion resection, corrective osteotomies, and long-segment fusion. Over subsequent years, neurological and functional decline progressed with bilateral rod fractures, pseudoarthrosis, and sagittal imbalance. Rehabilitation produced modest functional gains without recovery of ambulation.

CONCLUSION

Long-term decline after spinal surgery in KTS may be multifactorial, supporting sustained multidisciplinary follow-up and rehabilitation.