Intraspinal Epidermoid in Pregnancy

Case Report

Abstract

A 27-year-old female, who was 17 weeks pregnant at the time of her admission, complained of gait disturbance and numbness in both legs. Six years prior to admission, she had undergone a Caesarean section under spinal anesthesia. She had had no episode of back injury. On admission, her physical and neurological examinations were normal except for ataxic gait, parapresis, sensory disturbance at the lower part of L₁, and Romberg's sign. A complete block from Th₁₀ to Th₁₂ was detected using metrizamide myelography. Under the diagnosis of an intradural extramedullary tumor at the Th₁₁ level, the tumor was removed. The operation was attended by a gynecologist who monitored the fetus by means of a doppler ultrasonic cardiogram. The tumor was located in the intradural extramedullary space at the Th₁₁ level and was not adherent to the surrounding structures. The histopathological diagnosis was epidermoid. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged after a short period of rehabilitation.
Epidermoid tumors in the spinal region are very rare, representing less than 1% of all spinal tumors. Epidermoid tumors are classified as either acquired or congenital. The etiology of the present case was discussed.