Symptomatic thoracic vertebral hemangioma: a case report and literature review

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Jonathan Rudnick, Michelle Stern

Abstract

Vertebral hemangiomas are relatively common, but those causing spinal cord compression are rare. A man in his early sixties with back pain that had not resolved with conservative treatment was seen in an outpatient physiatrist office. Subsequent workup with computed tomography scan showed a large hemangioma in the T5 vertebra extending to the posterior elements where his pain was located. Three weeks later, the patient had progressive weakness and numbness in his lower extremity. He subsequently underwent a T3-5 laminectomy, with a subtotal resection of the mass. He reported improvement in lower-extremity strength and sensation and completed a course of inpatient rehabilitation. Recognizing when to expect neurologic symptoms and the proper time to intervene can be very critical. From this case study and other similar instances, one can conclude that vertebral hemangiomas are not always benign and are capable of causing cord compression. Proper diagnosis and treatment may prevent the development of neurologic symptoms.

References

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Citations

Mar 11, 2010·Child's Nervous System : ChNS : Official Journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery·Augustine A AdeoluGodwin I Ogbole
Jun 19, 2010·Journal of Orthopaedic Science : Official Journal of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association·Satoshi KatoKatsuro Tomita
Jul 11, 2006·Journal of Pediatric Hematology/oncology·Brian L EdlowEmma E Furth
Jul 19, 2007·Journal of Neurosurgery. Spine·H Isaac ChenM Sean Grady
Nov 20, 2012·Indian Journal of Orthopaedics·Anup P NairBrijesh Kumar
Jan 4, 2012·Neurologia i neurochirurgia polska·Roman JankowskiBartosz Sokół
Jan 14, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Benjamin Jentgen-CeschinoValentin Fischer

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