Spinal and paraspinal giant cervical cavernous malformation with postpartum presentation

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Cavernous malformations (CMs) are found throughout the CNS but are relatively uncommon in the spine. In this report, the authors describe a giant CM with the imaging appearance of an aggressive, invasive, expansive tumor in the cervical spine. The intradural extramedullary portion of the tumor originated from a cervical nerve root; histologically, the lesion was identified as an intraneural CM. Most of the tumor extended into the paraspinal tissues. The tumor was also epidural, intraosseous, and osteolytic and had completely encased cervical nerve roots, peripheral nerves, branches of the brachial plexus, and the vertebral artery on the right side. It became symptomatic during the puerperal period. Gross-total resection was achieved using staged operative procedures, complex dural reconstruction, spinal fixation, and fusion. Clinical, radiographic, and histological details, as well as a discussion of the relevant literature, are provided.

Medical Subject Headings

Adult; Cervical Vertebrae; Female; Hemangioma, Cavernous, Central Nervous System (diagnosis, surgery); Humans; Puerperal Disorders (diagnosis, surgery); Spinal Cord Neoplasms (diagnosis, surgery)

Publication Date

5-1-2012

Publication Title

Journal of neurosurgery. Spine

E-ISSN

1547-5646

Volume

16

Issue

5

First Page

447

Last Page

51

PubMed ID

22360563

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.3171/2012.1.SPINE11630

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