Growth of intramedullary lipoma in a renal transplant recipient

Abstract

Background: Administration of glucocorticoids can lead to a variety of complications in addition to deposition of fat leading to cushingoid features. Corticosteroids, either endogenously produced or exogenously administered, are implicated in the growth of lipomas in different anatomic locations including the epidural space in the spinal cord causing cord compression.

Method: We report a growth of lipoma in an unusual site in a 28-year-old female renal transplant recipient within 6 weeks of renal transplant surgery.

Result: Our patient had an intradural lipoma that had merged with the medulla of the spinal cord making its total excision unfeasible without damaging the spinal cord.

Conclusion: Epidural lipomas causing cord compression is documented in patients receiving long-term corticosteroid therapy. This is the first case of intramedullary lipoma of the spinal cord that may be related to steroid use.