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Case Reports
. 2017 Jun 13:8:113.
doi: 10.4103/sni.sni_148_17. eCollection 2017.

A case report and review of thoracic spinal angiolipoma

Yusif Mohammed  1 , Shahed Elhamdani  1 , Mobeen Farooq  1 , Rida Mazagri  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case report and review of thoracic spinal angiolipoma

Yusif Mohammed et al. Surg Neurol Int. .

Abstract

Background: While it is a rare entity, spinal angiolipomas are well-defined benign tumors that have been described sporadically in the literature starting from the late 1800s. Composed of mature lipomatous and angiomatous elements, these tumors manifest neurological symptoms due to progressive spinal cord or root compression. We present a case of a thoracic spinal angiolipoma and review the relevant literature.

Case description: A 68-year-old male with ongoing bilateral lower extremity weakness was found on enhanced magnetic resonance imaging to have an extradural mass in the thoracic spine causing cord compression. A T4-T8 laminectomy and complete excision of the epidural mass resulted in reversal of the patient's neurological symptoms. Histopathology identified the mass as a thoracic spinal angiolipoma.

Conclusion: Given its uncommon occurrence and excellent prognosis, our report serves as a reminder to always consider spinal angiolipoma in the differential diagnosis of epidural masses.

Keywords: Epidural mass; magnetic resonance imaging; spinal angiolipomas; spinal tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Sagittal T2 MRI sequence shows a hypodense epidural mass (arrow) compressing the spinal cord from T5–T7. (b) Axial T2 MRI sequence shows a nonenhancing lesion isodense to soft tissue (arrow) causing severe spinal cord compression
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a and b) Histological examination of the lesion showed both mature adipocytes as well as numerous blood-filled capillaries (H and E, ×100)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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