• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.385-388
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• 2006

An Intramedullary subependymoma of the spinal cord is a rare tumor with only 43 reported cases in the literature. Most of them are reported to be localized within the cervical spinal cord. We report a rare case of a thoracic spine intramedullary subependymoma in a 37-year-old female who presented with back pain and radiating leg pain. Subtotal resection and post-operative radiotherapy were performed. Subependymomas developing in the spinal cord are benign with a low proliferative potential. Complete resection of the tumor appears to be the optimal method for a complete cure. However aggressive surgery may cause severe neurological deficit. Therefore, if severe neurological deficits are expected after complete removal, a partial removal and postoperative radiation therapy is an alternative method for treatment in selected cases. A large-scale randomized study is mandatory to clarify the effectiveness of radiotherapy and to establish the recurrence rate and prognosis with respect to the surgical removal of these tumors.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.454-457
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• 2010

Pure ventral midline giant schwannoma is an extremely rare entity. Spinal intradural extramedullary schwannomas commonly occur posterolateral or anterolateral to the spinal cord. A case of a pure midline ventrally situated giant pan cervical extramedullary schwannoma in an 18-year-old male patient with compressive myelopathy and sphincter involvement is presented. Spinal MR imaging showed a midline ventrally situated extramedullary tumor with severe spinal cord compression extending from clivus to C7 vertebra. It was resected through a posterolateral approach. Histology was consistent with a schwannoma. Post operative MR imaging showed no evidence of the tumor. The radiological features, pathogenesis and surgical strategies in management of these difficult tumors are discussed and the relevant literature is briefly reviewed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1023-1027
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• 2001

Hemangioblastomas are rare benign tumor of the central nervous system that commonly occur in the posterior fossa around the 4th ventricle. In case of von Hippel-Lindau disease, hemangioblastomas involve multiple regions such as cerebellum, spinal cord and brainstem but, rarely show simultaneous involvement of cerebellum and spinal cord. We have experienced a case of multiple hemangioblastomas that were located at the cerebellum, cervical cord and conus medullaris and also had multiple lesions that a part of von Hippel-Lindau disease ; retinal angioma, syringomyelia, multiple cyst on kidney and pancreas, renal cell carcinoma on left kidney. Hemangioblastomas on cerebellum and spinal cord were removed totally, retinal angioma was treated with laser photocoagulation and renal cell carcinoma was also totally excised. The authors report a case of von Hippel-Lindau disease had multiple located hemangioblastomas on cerebellum, cervical cord and conus medullaris with review of literature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.71-73
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• 2005

A case of intramedullary spinal cord lipoma is presented. A one month-old male infant presented with irritability and weakness on his upper extremities. A magnetic resonance[MR] image of the cervical spine demonstrated a well defined, high signal intensity lesion on both T1 and T2-weighted MR images and suppression on the fat saturation sequence. The tumor mass extended from the foramen magnum to T2 vertebra level. Ventral displacement of the spinal cord with kinking of the cervico-medullary junction was evident on the T2-weighted sagittal image. Partial resection of the tumor mass through laminoplastic laminotomy from C1 to T2 resulted in improved motor weakness on his upper extremities.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1238-1242
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• 2000

Spinal schwannomas are usually extramedullary intradural tumors and their intramedullary localizations are thought to be extremely rare. A 60-year-old woman complaining spastic quadriparesis, voiding difficulty and dyspnea was admitted. Her cervical MRI revealed an intramedullary mass in the cervicomedullary junction with multiple cyst which extended from lower cervical to C3 spinal cord. The mass showed a low signal on T1WI, high signal on T2WI with an wall enhancement. The patient underwent a suboccipital craniectomy and C1-2 laminectomy and the cystic tumor was totally removed through a midline myelotomy. The tumor was proved as an intramedullary schwannoma by pathologic examination. The Intramedullary presence of a tumor arising from the cells of the nerve sheath is unusual, because the central nervous system fibers do not contain the Schwann cell. There have been several hypotheses, but none has been accepted universally. This rare tumor is considered as a curable benign neoplasm, and an accurate intraoperative diagnosis and surgically total removal are essential.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.916-920
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• 2001

Primary melanotic schwannoma in spinal cord is a very uncommon disorder, eight cases of melanotic schwannoma in spinal cord have been found in the literature. We present a case report of a patient with an intradural, extramadullary melanotic schwannoma in cervical spine and the literature on melanotic schwannoma is reviewed. The proposed theories on the origin of these tumors and treatment are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2011

Objective : To present the profiles of spinal cord tumors that can be removed through a unilateral hemilaminectomy and to demonstrate its usefulness for benign spinal cord tumors that significantly occupy the spinal canal. Methods : From June 2004 to October 2010, 25 spinal cord tumors were approached with unilateral hemilaminectomy. We calculated the cross-sectional occupying ratio (CSOR) of tumor to spinal canal before and after the operations. Results : The locations of the tumors were intradural extramedullary in 20 cases, extradural in 2, and intramedullary in 3. The levels of the tumors were lumbar in 12, thoracic 9, and cervical 4. In all cases, the tumor was removed grossly and totally without damaging spinal cord or roots. The mean height and width of the lesions we195re 17.64 mm (3-47.5) and 12.62 mm (4-32.7), respectively. The mean CSOR was 69.40% (range, 27.8-96.9%). Postoperative neurological status showed improvement in all patients except one whose neurologic deficit remained unchanged. Postoperative spinal stability was preserved during the follow-up period (mean, 21.5 months) in all cases. Tumor recurrence did not develop during the follow-up period. Conclusion : Unilateral hemilaminectomy combined with microsurgical technique provides sufficient space for the removal of diverse spinal cord tumors. The basic profiles of the spinal cord tumors which can be removed through the unilateral hemilaminectomy demonstrate its role for the surgery of the benign spinal cord tumors in various sizes.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.537-539
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• 2013

Charcot spinal arthropathy is a rare, progressive type of vertebral joint degeneration that occurs in the setting of any preexisting condition characterized by decreased afferent innervation to the extent that normal protective joint sensation in the vertebral column is impaired. The authors report on a case of Charcot arthropathy of the lower lumbar spine mimicking a spinal tumor following cervical cord injury.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.128-132
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• 2020

Tanycytic ependymoma is a rare variant of ependymoma that commonly affects the cervical and thoracic spinal cord. It usually arises as intramedullary lesions, and extramedullary cases are extremely rare. We report a case of a 44-year-old woman who was diagnosed with tanycytic ependymoma in her lumbar spine at level 2-3. The tumor mass developed in an intradural extramedullary location. Histopathologically, tanycytic ependymoma can be misdiagnosed as schwannoma or pilocytic astrocytoma. Immunohistochemical findings such as strong positivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein, perinuclear dot-like positive patterns for epithelial membrane antigen, and focal positivity for S100 protein are helpful in diagnosing tanycytic ependymoma. It is important to be aware of this rare tumor to ensure appropriate patient management and accurate prognosis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 1987

Primary malignant melanom of the spinal cord is extremely rare. The best treatment appears to be total surgical excision, when possible and postoperative irradiation, but the value of radiotherapy is unknown because the number of cases that have been irradiated postoperatively is small. The 2-year survival rate for primary malignant melanoma of the spinal cord is usually less than $16\%$ and most patients died within 1 year. The prognosis of this tumor is poor.