Far lateral disc herniations in the lumbar spine are defined as those in which herniated disc material is not present inside the spinal canal but within or lateral to the intervertebral neural foramen. Approximately 10% of all lumbar disc herniations are far lateral lumbar disc herniations. However in the cervical spine, there have been few reports of cases in which herniated disc material was located lateral to the neural foramen. This is partly due to the Luschka joint(uncovertebral joint) which plays a role in preventing far lateral penetration of the disc material. Recently, we encountered a case of cervical disc herniation over the Luschka joint, which was the far lateral equivalent to the lumbar spine. A diagnosis of far lateral penetration of the cervical disc is quite difficult because diagnostic imaging studies do not usually reveal this lesion. We report the first case of far lateral cervical disc herniation(FLCDH) at C6-7 in Korea and discuss its clinical and radiological characteristics.
