Abstract
We recently encountered a rare case of intramedullary tumor of the thoracic spinal cord with large extramedullary lesions. The patient, a 70-year-old male, had experienced numbness of both lower extremities and spastic paresis with gait disturbance. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a mass at Th2 that showed isointensity on T1-and hyperintensity on T2-weighted images. The lesion showed strong intramedullary enhancement, and extramedullary extension with a“snowman-like”shape. The associated spinal cord swelling was manifested as a high-intensity area on T2-weighted images. At surgery, a dark red extramedullary tumor was dissected and excised en bloc, and it was unclear whether this tumor was connected to the intramedullary tumor. Subsequently, the intramedullary tumor was revealed under the pia mater, and this was dissected from the spinal cord and excised en bloc. The histological features of the tumor were consistent with capillary hemangioma. Capillary hemangioma of the spinal cord is rare, but can be surgically removed and cured without adjuvant therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging appears useful for differential diagnosis.
