Spinal cord edema with contrast enhancement mimicking intramedullary tumor in patient with cervical myelopathy: A case report and a brief literature review.

Autor:	Gkasdaris G; Spine Department and Deformities, Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece., Chourmouzi D; Radiology Department, Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece., Karagiannidis A; Spine Department and Deformities, Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece., Kapetanakis S; Spine Department and Deformities, Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Surgical neurology international [Surg Neurol Int] 2017 Jun 13; Vol. 8, pp. 111. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Jun 13 (Print Publication: 2017).
DOI:	10.4103/sni.sni_125_17
Abstrakt:	Background: Cervical myelopathy (CM) is a clinical diagnosis that may be associated with hyperintense areas on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The use of contrast enhancement in such areas to differentiate between neoplastic and degenerative disease has rarely been described. Case Description: We present a 41-year-old female with a 5-month course of progressive CM. The cervical MRI revealed spinal cord swelling, stenosis, and a hyperintense signal at the C5-C6 and C5-C7 levels. Both the neurologic and radiologic examinations were consistent with an intramedullary cervical cord tumor. To decompress the spinal canal, an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion was performed from C5 to C7 level. This resulted in immediate and significant improvement of the myelopathy. Postoperatively, over 1.5 years, the hyperintense, enhancing intramedullary lesion gradually regressed on multiple postoperative MRI scans. Conclusion: Spinal cord edema is occasionally seen on MR studies of the cervical spine in patients with degenerative CM. Contrast-enhanced MR studies may help differentiate hyperintense cord signals due to edema vs. atypical intramedullary tumors. Routine successive postoperative MRI evaluations are crucial to confirm the diagnosis of degenerative vs. neoplastic disease. Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.
Databáze:	MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:	Zobrazit plný text záznamu