ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Capillary angiomas are extremely rare in the spinal intradural space (being even less frequent in the intramedullary location)10-24. We analyze the characteristics of these lesions. METHODS: We present a case report of a patient with a symptomatic spinal-intradural capillary hemangioma at the thoracic level, followed by a review of the literature. RESULTS: We found a total of 41 patients reported with single angiomas, and three more patients with multiple lesions. Most patients were male (33/44 patients), and the mean age was 53,5 years. The localization of these lesions was mainly in the dorsal spine (24), cauda equina (15) and conus medullaris (6), with one case reported in the cervical spine 11. Most patients presented with back pain, mielopathy or radiculopathy. Contrary to the case of cavernous angiomas, we did not find cases of capillary angiomas presenting with subarachnoid or intramedullary hemorrhage. The imaging characteristics (isointense at T1WI, hyperintense at T2WI and with intense contrast enhancement) were constant in almost all the reports. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal intradural capillary angiomas are rare vascular lesions, frequently mistaken for intradural tumors. It affects mostly males in the fifth or sixth decade of life, and is preferentially located in the thoracolumbar spine. It can be occasionally associated with marked spinal cord edema, specially when there is a intramedullary component. These lesions have a good prognosis after surgical treatment, and must be taken into account in the differential diagnosis of intradural tumors of thoracolumbar spine and cauda equina.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/diagnosis , Thoracic Vertebrae , Low Back Pain , Hemangioma, Capillary/surgery , Hemangioma, Capillary/complications , Hemangioma, Capillary/diagnosis , Magnetic Resonance ImagingABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: No age-adjusted or histologic-adjusted assessments of the association between extent of resection and risk of either recurrence or death exist for neurosurgical patients who undergo resection of low-grade glioma using intraoperative magnetic resonance image (MRI) guidance. METHODS: The current data included 156 patients who underwent surgical resection of a unifocal, supratentorial, low-grade glioma in the MRI suite at Brigham and Women's Hospital between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2003. Estimates of disease-free and overall survival probabilities were calculated using Kaplan-Meier methodology. The association between extent of resection and these probabilities was measured using a Cox proportional hazards model. Observed death rates were compared with the expected death rate using age-specific and histologic-specific survival rates obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Registry. RESULTS: Patients who underwent subtotal resection were at 1.4 times the risk of disease recurrence (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.7-3.1) and at 4.9 times the risk of death (95% CI, 0.61-40.0) relative to patients who underwent gross total resection. The 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year age-adjusted and histologic-adjusted death rates for patients who underwent surgical resection using intraoperative MRI guidance were 1.9% (95% CI, 0.3-4.2%), 3.6% (95% CI, 0.4-6.7%), and 17.6% (95% CI, 5.9-29.3%), respectively: significantly lower than the rates reported using national data bases. CONCLUSIONS: The data from the current study suggested a possible association between surgical resection and survival for neurosurgical patients who underwent surgery for low-grade glioma under intraoperative MRI guidance. Further study within the context of a large, prospective, population-based project will be needed to confirm these findings.
