Foramen magnum metastatic malignant melanoma.

The foramen magnum as a site for brain metastasis is extremely rare. We report the case of a 24-year-old male who presented with features of increased intracranial pressure and lower cranial nerve palsies. Imaging revealed a foramen magnum tumor with extension up to the cerebellar vermis superiorly and into the spinal canal inferiorly (craniospinal mass) with mild obstructive hydrocephalus. A malignant melanoma was completely excised. The patient continued to be tumor-free 24 months later.

Secondary holocord syringomyelia with spinal hemangioblastoma: a report of two cases.

Intramedullary spinal hemangioblastoma is well known to be accompanied by syringomyelia. However, holocord secondary syringomyelia is uncommon. We present 2 cases of spinal hemangioblastoma, one in the conus medullaris and the other in midthoracic region, accompanied by holocord syrinx. In both the cases the secondary syrinx resolved following successful total tumor excision with good neurological recovery.

Post lumbar puncture spinal subarachnoid hematoma causing paraplegia: a short report.

A 53 year old male underwent total excision of a large sphenoidal wing meningioma. Patient was treated with cephalosporins and phenytoin for postoperative meningitis. Three weeks after surgery, a follow up lumbar puncture was done. The patient became paraplegic over a few hours. Imaging of the dorsolumbar spine and other investigations demonstrated a large intraspinal hematoma caused by thrombocytopenia which was probably drug induced. After normalising the platelet count surgical evacuation of the spinal subarachnoid hematoma was done. Relevant literature is reviewed.

Cervico thoracic junction spinal tuberculosis presenting as radiculopathy.

A case of cervico thoracic junctional area spinal tuberculosis presenting as painful radiculitis of the upper extremity is reported. The predominant symptom of radicular pain and muscle weakness in the hand, along with a claw deformity, led to considerable delay in diagnosis. The presence of advanced bone destruction with severe instability was demonstrated on the MRI scan done later. Surgical management by radical anterior debridement and fusion, along with chemotherapy, led to resolution of the upper extremity symptoms. The brachial plexus radiculopathy secondary to tuberculosis has not been reported. The absence of myelopathic signs even in the presence of advanced bone destruction, thecal compression and instability is uncommon in adults.