Abstract
A 54-year-old woman under maintenance hemodialysis for 6 years had suffered pain in her right lower extremity since December 1992. In September 1994, she was admitted because of difficulty walking due to increasing pain which was refractory to analgesics. Neurological examination showed no abnormal findings in muscle strength, deep tendon reflexes or sensation. Plain X-ray failed to demonstrate any remarkable changes in the vertebral column, but a spinal cord tumor was found at the L1 to L2 level by myelography, CT scan and MRI. Postopoperative pathological examination of the resected tumor revealed a benign neurinoma. It is relatively common for patients on long-term maintenance hemodialysis to complain of pain caused by metabolic bone disease or localized amyloid deposition. However, a benign spinal cord tumor should be taken into consideration among the origins of unexplainable pain in these patients.
