PEMLIF-a tale of two stories.

Intervertebral disc prolapse is a common cause of both acute and chronic low back pain. This can result in differential grades of motor and sensory disturbances in lower limbs and even cauda equina syndrome (CES). The neurological manifestations are a result of compression of the spinal cord and roots ventrally in the spinal canal due to the prolapsed disc. However, neurologic deficits owing to compression of the spinal cord dorsally as a result of migration of sequestrated disc fragments are very rare. We present two different cases of back pain with severe neurologic deficit referred to us within a short span of one month. Among them, one had long standing history of back pain while other had none. Both patients were investigated and found to have a sequestrated disc fragment which had dorsally migrated to the epidural space and was causing severe compression of the spinal cord. They underwent laminectomy and removal of the sequestrated fragment. However, they were only partially relieved of their motor and bladder weakness. We present our cases to highlight this rare form of lumbar epidural intervertebral disc migration, as well as enumerate the diagnostic challenges and discuss the differential diagnosis and treatment.

Ewing Sarcoma of the Cervical Epidural Space Presenting with Tetraplegia: Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is among the most frequented extremity osseous tumor in childhood. It was first described by James Ewing as diffuse endotheliomas in 1921. The name Ewing sarcoma was coined by Oberling in 1928 as a tribute to the legend who described this disease. ES exists in osseous and extraosseous forms. It shares much of its molecular typing with primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET); hence, they are regarded as different ends of the same molecular spectrum. ES, extraosseous ES, PNET, and Askins tumor are the other members of this family termed the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors. Extraosseous ES has been described in various locations of the spine, but its occurrence in the cervical epidural region is uncommon. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 12-year-old child presented to us with neck pain and progressive weakness of all 4 limbs. She was investigated and found to have a highly vascular lesion in the cervical epidural region extending from C2 to the C4 region. Embolization therapy was unsuccessful. She deteriorated and eventually had to undergo emergency surgery to decompress the spinal cord. The lesion was biopsied and diagnosed as extraosseous ES. After radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the patient regained most of the power in her limbs. CONCLUSION: Extraosseous ES is a rare tumor of the cervical cord in this age group. We report this case to highlight the difficulties encountered in the management of this variant.