Fig. 1

Preoperative images of patient no. 5. (a) Lateral X-ray of a 12-year-old male child demonstrated vertebral body damage and sagittal instability and kyphosis. A preoperative sagittal MRI (b) and CT (c) revealed significant C3-4 vertebral body destruction with kyphosis associated with epidural, paravertebral and retropharyngeal abscess formation; and the cervical spinal cord was severely compressed. Coronary MRI (d) revealed a huge abscess that affected the esophagus and invaded into the spinal canal. (e) CT scan and enhancements of the lung: the right thorax collapsed and pleural thickening occurred, suggesting tuberculous pleurisy and encapsulated pleural effusion