Revisited: spinal angiolipoma - three additional cases

Angiolipomas are benign rumours which usually arise from subcutaneous tissu e, particularly in the forearm, but they do occur rarely in the spinal cana l. To the best of our knowledge 60 cases of histologically confirmed spinal angiolipoma have been reported in the medical literature. They show a fema le predominance (1.6:1), and the mean age at presentation is 43 years. They usually arise in the thoracic spine, most cases presenting with slowly pro gressive signs and symptoms of cord compression. Rarely, massive acute haem orrhage into the tumour may herald its presence. Surgical resection or deco mpression are the most satisfactory methods of treatment in most patients. We describe three further cases of spinal angiolipoma, and discuss their ae tiology, pathogenesis, clinico-pathological features and surgical managemen t.