ACUTE PARAPLEGIA DUE TO AN EXTRADURAL SPINAL LIPOMA - CASE-REPORT

We describe a 20 year old man, who presented with an acute onset of tr ansverse myelopathy evolving over 24 h at T6 spinal level; as yet, an unreported presenting symptom from a midthoracic intraspinal lipoma. T he C.S.F findings suggested a spinal block. MRI, imaging was not pract ical. Urgent myelography revealed extradural compression at the T5-6 v ertebral level. The patient underwent surgical debulking of the tumor which on histopathology was found to be a lipoma, but there was no neu rological improvement even at 3 months follow up. We believe that pati ents with intraspinal lipomas are at high risk of developing irreversi ble neurological dysfunction.