• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.61-64
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• 2013

As a cause of spinal cord compression, intramedullary spinal tuberculoma with central nervous system (CNS) involvement is rare. Aurthors report a 66-year-old female presented with multiple CNS tuberculomas including spinal intramedullary tuberculoma manifesting paraparesis and urinary dysfunction. We review the clinical menifestation and experiences of previous reported literature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1237-1240
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• 2001

Spontaneous herniation of the spinal cord is a very rare. It's clinical symptom presents with progressive myelopathy. A 42-year old male patient who presented the progressive left leg weakness and Brown-Seqaurd syndrome is presented. MRI showed a typical finding of dural defect and herniation of the cord on the level of T3-4. Repair of dural defect using an artificial dura and reposition of cord herniation were undertaken after three level laminectomies with SSEP monitoring. Postoperatively, symptoms were improved rapidly. In our knowledgement, this is first case being reported in Korea. This entity, although rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of myelopathy in the absence of a mass lesion.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.410-413
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• 2012

Eosinophilic myelitis (EM) or atopic myelitis is a rare disease characterized by a myelitic condition in the spinal cord combined with allergic process. This disease has specific features of elevated serum IgE level, active reaction to mite specific antigen and stepwise progression of mostly the sensory symptoms. Toxocariasis can be related with a form of EM. This report describes two cases of cervical eosinophilic myelitis initially considered as intramedullary tumors. When a differential diagnosis of the intramedullary spinal cord lesion is in doubt, evaluation for eosinophilic myelitis and toxocariasis would be beneficial.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.836-840
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• 2000

Intramedullary spinal hemagioblastomas usually develope in cervical or thoracic region of spinal cord, but rarely in conus medullaris. We report a case of hemangioblastoma developed in conus medullaris. The 19-year-old male patient presented with slowly progressing low back pain and paresthesia of both legs. MRI and spinal angiography revealed a well-vascularized mass lesion in the conus medullaris with syrinx formation. Total excision of hemangioblastoma was achieved via posterior approach. Postoperatively, patient's walking difficulty was worsened transiently, but it was improved at discharge.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.395-399
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• 2001

Primary spinal epidural lymphoma(SEL), i.e. occurring in the absence of any detectable extraspinal lymphoproliferative disorder, is an unusual cause of spinal cord compression. The authors report a 48-year-old, diabetic woman presented with back pain followed by acute paraparesis and voiding difficulty. She had been treated with acupunctures on her back before admission, and complete blood count showed leukocytosis with neutrophilia and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR). Thoracic spine magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) revealed an epidural mass extending from T5 to T8 with compression of the spinal cord. Emergency decompressive laminectomy was performed with a tentative diagnosis of spinal epidural abscess, but a B-cell lymphoma was final pathologic diagnosis. Further staging showed no other sites of lymphoma, and the spinal lesion was treated by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The authors stress that primary SEL can mimic spinal epidural abscess(SEA) in the diabetic patient and should be a diagnostic consideration in patients with a syndrome of acute spinal cord compression manifested by a prodrome of back pain and neuroimaging consistent with an epidural compressive lesion, especially in a diabetic.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.31-36
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• 2011

Purpose: This pilot case series study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of continuous radiofrequency (CRF) application on dorsal root ganglia (DRG) to reduce spasticity of spinal cord lesion (SCL) patients. Methods: We performed CRF procedures on DRG in 8 subjects (7 males; mean age 39 years, range 31-53 years) with intractable spasticity that impeded activities of daily living and caregiving, although they had maximal tolerable doses of anti-spastic medications and active rehabilitative treatment. All subjects underwent CRF (90 seconds at $90^{\circ}C$) at multiple lumbosacral and/or cervical DRG. Muscle tone of the extremities was measured by the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) before and one month after procedures. Functional goals were established at baseline, and subjects' satisfaction levels were categorized one month after procedures. Results: A total of 54 CRF treatments were performed in 8 patients. In all patients, we found some improvement in muscle tone measured by the MAS. Six patients reported themselves satisfied with their current status at one month's post-treatment, and 2 patients were fairly satisfied with their gait pattern. In 3 patients, neuropathic pain was present after CRF on DRG. In 1 lumbar case, the pain subsided after several days, and the other 2 cervical cases suffered from tolerable neuropathic pain treated with anti-convulsant medication. Conclusion: CRF on DRG might be a promising alternative treatment to reduce spasticity in SCL patients. Further well-designed clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of CRF application on DRG are needed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.225-231
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• 2013

Objective : Spinal dysraphism defects span wide spectrum. Wound dehiscence is a common postoperative complication, and is a challenge in the current management of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks and wound healing. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risks of CSF-related morbidity in the surgical treatment of spinal dysraphism. Methods : Ten patients with spinal dysraphism were included in this retrospective study. The median age of the cohort was 4.8 months. To assess the risk of CSF morbidity, we measured the skin lesion area and the percentage of the skin lesion area relative to the back surface for each patient. We then analyzed the relationship between morbidity and the measured skin lesion area or related factors. Results : The overall median skin lesion area was 36.2 $cm^2$ (n=10). The percentage of the skin lesion area relative to the back surface ranged from 0.6% to 18.1%. During surgical reconstruction, 4 patients required subsequent operations to repair CSF morbidity. The comparison of the mean area of skin lesions between the CSF morbidity group and the non-CSF morbidity group was statistically significant (average volume skin lesion of $64.4{\pm}32.5cm^2$ versus $27.7{\pm}27.8cm^2$, p<0.05). CSF morbidity tended to occur either when the skin lesion area was up to 44.2 $cm^2$ or there was preexisting fibrosis before revision with an accompanying broad-based dural defect. Conclusion : Measuring the lesion area, including the skin, dura, and related surgical parameters, offers useful information for predicting wound challenges and selecting appropriate reconstructive surgery methods.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.39-42
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• 2021

A 29-year-old woman had 1-month history of back pain radiating into lower extremities, motor weakness, and sensory abnormalities in both lower extremities. Contrast-enhanced spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a homogeneously enhancing mass at the T12~L1 and several intradural enhancing nodular lesions at L2~S1. Tumor resection surgery was performed and following histological examination showed that the tumor satisfied the diagnostic criteria for atypical choroid plexus papilloma (CPP). To find primary tumor sites, contrast-enhanced brain MRI, whole spine MRI, and PET-CT were carried out and additional lesions were detected at the fourth ventricle, right cerebellum, and upper thoracic spinal cord. This is a very rare case of metastatic atypical CPP that involves brain, upper thoracic spinal cord, and cauda equina with initial manifestation of radicular symptoms without clinical signs of primary brain lesion.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.48-57
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general characteristics, complications and level of social adaptation of spinal cord injured patients. The subjects were one hundred forty five members who were inpatients or outpatients from October 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005 in general hospitals and municipal welfare centers for the handicapped located in the metropolitan city of Gwangju. The following results were obtained using Modified Barthel Index (MBI). 1) Gender distribution was 77.9% male and 22.1% female. The mean age at the time of injury was 35.4 and the mean age during the study was 44.2. 2) The degree of paralysis among the subjects was as follows: 49.0% had complete paralysis and 51.0% suffered incomplete paralysis. The most frequently injured lesion among the subjects was cervical (49.0%), followed by thoracic (35.9%), and lumbar (15.2%). 3) The mean MBI score was 63.5. There was statistically significant difference in the MBI score in the relation between complete and incomplete paralysis, the relation between cervical, thoracic, and lumbar injury, and the relation between a recovery period of less than three years and more than three years according to the characteristics of injury (p<.05). 4) There was statistically significant difference in the MBI score of subjects who had complications concerning spasticity, deformity, urinary tract infection, and sexual dysfunction (p<.05). 5) The most serious emotional pain after spinal cord injury resulted from economic issues, which affected 35.2% of the subjects. The group having a shorter recovery period after spinal cord injury complained of psychological matters, the group having a longer recovery period complained about the surrounding environment (lack of convenient facilities), suggesting statistically significant difference (p<.05). 6) The most common activities of the group with injuries more than ten years old included meeting schoolmates and working, while most common activities of the group with injuries less than three years old included attending religious functions and miscellaneous others (watching TV, spending time with family), suggesting statistically significant difference (p<.05).

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.135-138
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• 1984

A 44-year-old female with cervical cord compression signs had myelographic and computerized tomographic evidence of extradural spinal cord compression without any tuberculous bony lesion or cold abscess. At surgery, cervical spinal cord was compressed by extraosseous extradural granulomatous tissue which was histologically proved a very rare localized extradural tuberculous granuloma.