Abstract
We report a rare case of dumb-bell shaped ganglioneuroma with paraplegia. A 2-year-old boy suffered from paraplegia with fever recovered naturaly after his symptoms diminished in a month. Eight months later, however, paraplegia recurred with fever. He was admitted to our hospital, and CT and MRI images showed a spinal tumor. The tumor was located below the right kidney and extended to the retroperitoneum, spinal canal, and vertebral body, as a dumb-bell shaped mass. We suspected the tumor was ganglioneuroma, and tumor biopsy was thus conducted. For exclusive diagnosis of ganglioneurobrastoma and for reduction of neurologic symptoms, we performed partial resection of the tumor in the retroperitneum and spinal canal. Histopathological diagnosis revealed the tumor as ganglioneuroma. In 1-year lapse, the remaining tumor was not enlarged, and his paraplegia was slightly improved. In conclusion, we considered the tumor was originated from a sympathetic ganglion of the retroperitoneum, which differentiated gradually with time, causing cord compression symptoms by the differentiated tumor enlargement.
