Diastematomyelia and tumor in adults: report of two cases and literature review

Abstract

Study design: Case report and review of the literature.

Objective: To report on 2 rare cases of association of diastematomyelia with dysembryogenetic tumors and revision of the literature.

Summary of background data: Diastematomyelia is an occult spinal diastrophism pathologically characterized by a clefting of the spinal cord with/without its overlying structures. It is often associated with vertebral bony abnormalities, cutaneous lesions, myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, hydromyelia, Chiari syndrome or Klippel-Feil syndrome. The association of diastematomyelia with dysembryogenetic spinal tumors in adults is extremely rare. Only 13 cases were detected in a literature review since 1951. We report on our experience with 2 new cases.

Methods: An 87-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman presented to our department with incomplete cauda equina syndrome. Both patients underwent complete preoperative imaging. Complete surgical removal of the tumor was performed. Details of these were compared with the ones encountered in literature.

Results: Both patients presented complete recovery in the follow-up. From the review of 15 adults described in literature including the present cases, the age ranged between 11 and 87 proving an open rage of onset of symptoms.

Conclusion: The results of surgery were unclear in literature. In our experience, radical surgery was feasible and good clinical results were obtained.