Korean J Spine.  2010 Jun;7(2):116-119.

Pure Thoracic Spinal Epidural Cavernous Hemangioma with Spinal Cord Compression: A Case Report

• Son S
• Lee SG
• Yoo CJ
• Park CW
• Kim WK

Abstract

We report a case of pure spinal epidural cavernous hemangioma and discuss the relationships among its clinical manifestation, diagnosis and treatment. A 35-year-old woman was admitted to our department with a six-month history of severe headache, nausea and back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the thoracic spine showed a spindle-shaped epidural lesion extending into the neural foramen, with compression of the spinal cord at the T8-12 levels and multifocal mass lesions on the paravertebral muscles. The patient underwent microsurgery, the lesion was completely removed, and the patient recovered fully. The lesion in the spinal canal was dark-reddish and was located in the posterolateral epidural space. Histopathologic examination revealed a cavernous hemangioma. Pure spinal epidural cavernous hemangiomas have characteristic MRI findings; however, their differential diagnoses requires careful initial examination and a corresponding clinical correlation.

Keyword

Caverernous hemangioma; Epidural; Spinal cord compression

MeSH Terms

Adult
Back Pain
Caves
Diagnosis, Differential
Epidural Space
Female
Headache
Hemangioma, Cavernous
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Microsurgery
Muscles
Nausea
Spinal Canal
Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord Compression
Spine