CERVICAL HEMANGIOBLASTOMA WITH A PAST HISTORY OF SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE

BACKGROUND Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with a spinal origin is a rar e clinical entity. The most common source of SAH is an arteriovenous m alformation. Only six cases of spinal hemangioblastomas causing SAH ha ve been reported. CASE DESCRIPTION This 48-year-old man had experience d severe headache 12 years earlier, which was diagnosed as SAH by comp uted tomography (CT) scan and lumbar puncture. However, cerebral angio graphy could not detect either aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation. Thereafter, he spent an uneventful life until he was incidentally dia gnosed with a cervical tumor on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study for Meniere's disease. The tumor was situated at the cervicomedullary junction, and fed by the left vertebral artery. Histologic findings o f the tumor showed features typical of hemangioblastoma. CONCLUSIONS W e describe a case of cervical spinal extramedullary hemangioblastoma w ith a past history of SAH. In our case, the SAH of 12 years ago perhap s occurred from the cervicomedullary junction hemangioblastoma. Since the etiology of SAH could not be detected at the first angiography, no t only follow-up reangiography, but also MRI of the spinal cord and sp inal angiography could have played an important role. (C) 1998 by Else vier Science Inc.