A 57-year-old man complained of severe lower back pain and radicular pain in both legs for 1 week after falling from a ladder. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine showed a subdural hematoma (SDH), which was surgically removed. The patient had no back pain or the radicular leg pain at 2 weeks post-surgery. However, he complained of diffuse headaches upon follow-up. Brain computed tomography (CT) and MRI revealed an intracranial SDH, which was immediately removed by surgery. During his 1-year follow-up, he reported that the pain had resolved without recurrence. Simultaneous spinal and intracranial SDH are rare and no standard treatment exists for this condition. This case suggests that it is possible that an intracranial SDH can migrate into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space through an arachnoid tear. CSF circulation allows the intracranial SDH to enter subarachnoid spaces encasing the spinal cord. In order to prevent irreversible damage, surgical intervention should be considered for case of spinal SDH with progressive neurological deficits.
Arachnoid ; Back Pain ; Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Hematoma, Subdural, Intracranial* ; Hematoma, Subdural, Spinal ; Humans ; Leg ; Low Back Pain ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Injuries ; Spine ; Subarachnoid Space ; Subdural Space* ; Tears

We present a rare case of intramuscular schwannoma originating from the dorsal ramus nerve in a 62-year-old woman. The mass grew slowly, with pain developing upon touch five years prior. No neurological deficit was detected. The mass was observed in the erector spinae muscles in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and surgical excision was performed. The mass was well encapsulated with clear margin. The lesion appeared to originate from the cranial side. We completely removed the mass including the origin. Histopathology confirmed a schwannoma diagnosis. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of a dorsal ramus-nerve schwannoma within the erector spinae muscles.
Back Pain ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Neurilemmoma*

C5 palsy is a common complication after cervical decompressive surgery, which have 0 to 30% complication rate. A 61-year-old female patient with cervical spondylotic myelopathy showed bilateral C5 palsy following circumferential decompression and fusion. Unexpectedly, bilateral C5 palsy was noted in different time points on postoperative day 2 and 8, respectively. Steroid injection and physical therapy were performed, and her motor function is recovering. Surgeons should make an effort to prevent possible C5 palsy when performing cervical decompression surgery.
Decompression* ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Paralysis* ; Spinal Cord Diseases*

Intramuscular hemangioma (IMH) primarily develops in the skeletal muscles of the limbs or trunk. The occurrence of IMH in the neck muscle is very rare. In the present report, we describe a case of IMH in the posterior neck muscle. A 58-year-old woman presented with a mass on the right posterior neck area, which had developed 2 years previously. The tumor was round in shape, had a size of 3.5x3.0 cm, and was fixed to the surrounding soft tissue. The patient complained of mild dull pain and tenderness at the mass without reddish discoloration. The mass showed a diurnal variation in size - the mass grew in size in the morning and became smaller in the afternoon. Preoperative study confirmed the vascular nature of the tumor. During peritumoral dissection, the mass shrank rapidly following profuse bleeding and arterial cauterization, and hence, it was difficult to distinguish the mass from the surrounding tissues. A total resection was possible with careful dissection of its fibrotic boundary. Based on the histological findings, a definitive diagnosis of cavernous type IMH was made. An initial suspicion of IMH, according to the clinical findings, would be helpful for decision making of further evaluations and surgical plan.
Cautery ; Decision Making ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Female ; Hemangioma* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Neck ; Neck Muscles

Spinal cord compressing syndrome due to synovial cyst (SC) of the thoracolumbar spine is a rare clinical condition. In this report we aim to heighten awareness of the thoracolumbar facet synovial cyst as a possible cause of thoracic myelopathy. The SC was removed thoroughly by laminectomy. The patient had an excellent recovery. The etiological and therapeutic aspects are discussed.
Humans ; Laminectomy ; Paraparesis* ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spine ; Synovial Cyst*

Spinal dysraphisms are defined as open and closed dysraphisms. A hemivertebra is a congenital condition seen in 61% of patients with congenital anomalies. The first report of the excision of a hemivertebra was by Royle in 1928. A sixteen-year-old girl was admitted to our clinic with a congenital stain on the waist and a normal neurological examination. No new cases have been reported in recent literature. Our case, which is also rare, is associated with a tethered cord only and no other congenital abnormalities.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Humans ; Neurologic Examination ; Port-Wine Stain ; Spinal Dysraphism

This case report presents two patients who underwent fibular strut grafting for complex revisions of previous lumbar spine arthrodeses. A case review of the Electronic Medical Record at the index institution was performed to evaluate the timeline of events of the two patients who underwent fibular strut grafting for complex revisions of previous lumbar spine arthrodesis, including imaging studies, progress notes, and laboratory results. One patient had developed chronic L3 vertebral body osteomyelitis from a prior fibular allograft and instrumentation placed for a traumatic burst fracture. The second patient had a severe scoliosis recalcitrant to prior arthrodeses in the context of Marfan syndrome and a persistent L4-5 pseudarthrosis. Both patients underwent free vascularized fibular autograft revision arthrodeses. At most recent long-term follow-up, both patients had improved clinically and neither had required further revision. The use of free vascularized fibular grafting is an excellent option for a variety of spinal indications, and these two reports indicate that the technology may have an indication for use after multiple failed surgeries for osteomyelitis or correction of a multi-level large spinal deformity secondary to Marfan syndrome.
Allografts ; Arthrodesis ; Autografts* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Electronic Health Records ; Fibula ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Marfan Syndrome ; Osteomyelitis ; Pseudarthrosis ; Scoliosis ; Spine* ; Transplants

A 54-year-old female with neurofibromatosis type 1 presented with progressing truncal shift owing to spinal deformity. On plain radiograph, the Cobb angle was 54 degree in coronal plane. Radiological examinations showed severe dystrophic change with dysplastic pedicles, bony scalloping, neural foraminal widening from dural ectasia. The patient underwent deformity correction and reconstruction surgery from the T9 to the pelvis using multiple iliac screws and Wisconsin interspinous segmental instrumentation by wiring due to maximize fixation points. The postoperative course was uneventful. One-year follow-up radiographs showed a successful curve correction with solid fusion. We report a case of pedicle dysplasia and dystrophic change treated by posterior segmental spinal instrumentation and fusion with help of multiple iliac screws and modified Wisconsin interspinous segmental wiring.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Neurofibromatosis 1 ; Pectinidae ; Pelvis ; Scoliosis* ; Wisconsin*

The sacral spinal epidural space is an uncommon site for primary malignant lymphomas, presenting with symptoms associated with cauda equina compression. Especially, lumbo-sacral epidural lymphoma has been reported to be very rare. We present a rare case of 29-year-old male with sacral spinal epidural malignant lymphoma. The patient complained of tingling sensation in his buttocks that was radiating to his calf. The neurological examination was normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with contrast showed a well-defined extradural mass lesion at the mid L5 to mid S2 level. The lesion was iso- to hypointense on T1 and T2 weighted images and showed homogenous enhancement and a focal enhancement in the L5 vertebral body on post-contrast images. The patient underwent a L5-S2 laminectomy and subtotal excision of the lesion. Intra-operatively, the lesion was extradural and not densely adherent to the dura; the lesion was friable, not firm, fleshy, brownish and hypervascular. The histologic diagnosis was grade 2 non-Hodgkin's follicular lymphoma. Even though the primary spinal epidural non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a very rare disease, clinicians should take it into consideration in the differential diagnosis of patients with spinal epidural tumor.
Adult ; Buttocks ; Cauda Equina ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epidural Neoplasms ; Epidural Space* ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, Follicular ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neurologic Examination ; Rare Diseases ; Sensation

Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is an uncommon but disabling disease. This paper reports a case of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma and treatment by surgical management. A 32-year-old male presented with a 30-minute history of sudden headache, back pain, chest pain, and progressive quadriplegia. Whole-spinal sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed spinal epidural hematoma on the ventral portion of the spinal canal. Total laminectomy from T5 to T7 was performed, and hematoma located at the ventral portion of the spinal cord was evacuated. Epidural drainages were inserted in the upper and lower epidural spaces. The patient improved sufficiently to ambulate, and paresthesia was fully recovered. Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma should be considered when patients present symptoms of spinal cord compression after sudden back pain or chest pain. To prevent permanent neurologic deficits, early and correct diagnosis with timely surgical management is necessary.
Adult ; Back Pain ; Chest Pain ; Diagnosis ; Epidural Space ; Headache ; Hematoma ; Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal* ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Paresthesia ; Quadriplegia ; Spinal Canal* ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Compression