THE PARAPLEGIA resulting from Pott's disease may occur in any stage of the disease and may be a result of several factors. Butler,1 in a thoroughly studied series of cases, found the incidence of paraplegia in all stages of the disease to be 11.4 per cent. Other authors have cited figures of from 5 to 20 per cent as the incidence of paralysis in this disease. The results of treatment vary somewhat with the extent and neurologic type of the paralysis, the cause of the paralysis and the method of treatment.
It is evident that there are many pros and cons concerning the use of a surgical attack for the relief of paralysis due to tuberculous abscesses and granulation tissue, compression of the spinal cord by pathologic fractures of vertebral bodies, vascular and toxic disturbances of the spinal cord incident to tuberculous disease and the formation of bony ridges