• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.316-319
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• 2005

A 42-year-old female was admitted with an 11-month history of progressive spastic paraparesis and ataxic gait. Magnetic resonance imaging showed intraspinal space occupying lesion compressing the spinal cord posteriorly, located from C5 to T2 with iso to high signal intensity at T2-weighted images and high signal intensity at T1-weighted images. The patient underwent surgery for decompression of the affected spinal cord because of the progressive neurological deficit. At surgery, the lesion was intradural extramedullary lipoma composed with mature adipose tissue. Partial tumor removal to decompress the neural structures and laminoplasty to avoid postoperative instability and deformity were performed. Postoperatively, she demonstrated improvement in paraparesis and was able to walk without assistance. Though attempts to decrease the size of or even to totally remove a lipoma are not required to achieve satisfactory results and carry considerable risks of surgical morbidity, a careful and limited decompression of the affected spinal cord through a partial removal of the tumor and laminoplasty could result in a significant neurological improvement.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.334-337
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• 2008

Spinal intradural extramedullary teratoma is a rare condition that develops more commonly in children than in adults and may be associated with spinal dysraphism. We report a rare case of adult-onset intradural extramedullary teratoma in the thoracolumbar spinal cord with no evidence of spinal dysraphism and without the history of prior spinal surgery. The patient was a 38-year-old male whose chief complaint was urinary incontinence. X-ray images of the thoracolumbar spine showed the widening of the interpedicular distance and posterior marginal erosion of the vertebral bodies and pedicles at the T11, T12, and L1 level. Magnetic resonance imagings of the lumbar spine showed a lobulated inhomogeneous high signal intradural mass ($87{\times}29{\times}20mm$) between T11 and L1 and a high signal fluid collection at the T11 level. Laminectomy of the T11- L1 region was performed, and the mass was subtotally excised. The resected tumor was histopathologically diagnosed as a mature cystic teratoma. The patient's symptom of urinary incontinence was improved following the surgery.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.121-124
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• 2013

Granular cell tumors (GrCTs) of the spinal cord are rare benign tumors with a high rate of local recurrence. Only 6 cases of spinal GrCTs have been reported. GrCT is difficult to distinguish from other benign tumors such as schwannoma using imaging. A radiological "speckled dots" sign may be a useful differentiating feature of GrCT based upon experience with two cases and a review of the literature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.57-59
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• 2011

Intradural extramedullary (IDEM) ependymomas occur very rarely and little has been reported about their clinical characteristics. The authors present a case of a 57-year-old woman with an IDEM ependymoma. She was referred for the evaluation of a 4-month history of increasing neck pain and muscular weakness of the left extremities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine demonstrated an IDEM tumor with spinal cord compression. At the time of surgery, an encapsulated IDEM tumor without a dural attachment or medullary infiltration was noted, but the tumor capsule adherent to the spinal cord and root was left in place to minimize the risk of neurological sequelae. Histologic examination revealed a benign classic ependymoma. The post-operative course was uneventful and radiotherapy was performed. The patient showed an excellent clinical recovery, with no recurrence after 5 years of follow-up.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.sup2
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• pp.361-363
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• 2001

Intradural extramedullary hemangioblastoma of the spinal cord is uncommon tumor. Symptom onset is typically in the forth decade. Complete excision offers the best chance for cure. We report a case of extramedullary hemangioblastoma of the spinal cord in old age. A 76 -year old man presented with 1 month history of paraparesis. Multiple enhancing lower thoracic and lumbar spinal masses were seen on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). Surgical exploration for symptomatic lesion revealed intradural-extramedullary mass, which had hypervascularity. The excised spinal masses were diagnosed as hemangioblastoma. Postoperative course was uneventful and symptoms improved gradually.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.156-158
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• 2012

Intervertebral intradural lumbar disc herniation (ILDH) is a quite rare pathology, and isolated intradural lumbar disc herniation is even more rare. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may not be able to reveal ILDHs, especially if MRI findings show an intact lumbar disc annulus and posterior longitudinal ligament. Here, we present an exceedingly rare case of an isolated IDLH that we initially misidentified as a spinal intradural tumor, in a 54-year-old man hospitalized with a 2-month history of back pain and right sciatica. Neurologic examination revealed a positive straight leg raise test on the right side, but he presented no other sensory, motor, or sphincter disturbances. A gadolinium-enhanced MRI revealed what we believed to be an intradural extramedullary tumor compressing the cauda equina leftward in the thecal sac, at the L2 vertebral level. The patient underwent total L2 laminectomy, and we extirpated the intradural mass under microscopic guidance. Histologic examination of the mass revealed a degenerated nucleus pulposus.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.257-260
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• 2013

A 61-year-old woman with a very rare case of totally ossified large thoracic spinal metaplastic meningioma, showing progressing myelopathy is presented. Computed tomographic images showed a large totally ossfied intradural round mass occupying the spinal canal on T9-10 level. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large T9-10 intradural extramedullary mass that was hypointense to spinal cord on T1- and T2-weighted sequences, partial enhancement was apparent after Gadolinium administration. The spinal cord was severely compressed and displaced toward the right at the level of T9-10. Surgical removal of the tumor was successfully accomplished via the posterior midline approach and the histological diagnosis verified an ossified metaplastic meningioma. The clinical neurological symptoms of patient were improved postoperatively. In this article we discuss the surgical and pathological aspects of rare case of spinal totally ossified metaplastic meningioma.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.129-131
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• 2013

The incidence of spinal meningioma is very rare in children. A 14-year-old girl presented with right arm weakness, gait disturbance, and urinary incontinence. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intradural extramedullary tumor dorsal to the spinal cord in the level of C1. The tumor was totally removed despite the severe cord compression. Meningotheliomatous meningioma was diagnosed after histological examination.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.427-431
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• 2012

Conventional laminectomy is the most popular technique for the complete removal of intradural spinal tumors. In particular, the central portion intramedullary tumor and large intradural extramedullary tumor often require a total laminectomy for the midline myelotomy, sufficient decompression, and adequate visualization. However, this technique has the disadvantages of a wide incision, extensive periosteal muscle dissection, and bony structural injury. Recently, split-spinous laminectomy and tubular retractor systems were found to decrease postoperative muscle injuries, skin incision size and discomfort. The combined technique of split-spinous laminectomy, using a quadrant tube retractor system allows for an excellent exposure of the tumor with minimal trauma of the surrounding tissue. We propose that this technique offers possible advantages over the traditional open tumor removal of the intradural spinal cord tumors, which covers one or two cervical levels and requires a total laminectomy.