Massive bilocular spinal cord intramedullary lipoma of the thoracic spine

BJR Case Rep. 2017 Jun 14;3(4):20170009. doi: 10.1259/bjrcr.20170009. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Spinal cord intramedullary lipomas are rare, comprising 2% of intramedullary tumours. They are more often associated with spinal dysraphism, while lipomas not associated with spinal dysraphism are even less frequent, accounting for 1% of cases. The pathogenesis of spinal cord intramedullary lipomas remains unclear. MRI is the gold standard for the evaluation of these lesions. We hereby present a case of a 37-year-old male, who underwent MRI due to spastic paraparesis. MRI revealed a bilocular, spinal cord intramedullary lesion at the level of T 2-T 5, with dilatation of the spinal canal and signal characteristics compatible with lipoma. There was no clear imaging evidence of spinal dysraphism. The patient underwent surgery and diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically.

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