Management of spinal cord cavernous haemangioma

ABSTRACT

Cavernous haemangioma [CH] is a vascular malformation described as sinusoidal vascular channels located within the neural tissue but lacking intervening neural elements. Although spinal cord is not a frequent site for these lesions, the spinal cord cavernous haemangioma is currently encountered more frequently with magnetic resonance imaging. Management of both symptomatic and asymptomatic intramedullary cavernous haemangioma is a matter of debate as these lesions may cause a devastating spinal cord dysfunction. We present a young patient with thoracic intramedullary cavernous haemangioma who first presented with two episodes of transient paraparesis before he had a major intramedullary bleeding that rendered him in paraparesis and incontinence. We emphasize to consider early surgical resection as soon as possible to prevent potentially irreversible spinal cord damage secondary to a large or recurrent small bleedings