Spinal intradural extramedullary capillary hemangioma: MR imaging findings

Spinal intradural extramedullary capillary hemangiomas are extremely rare. We present the MR imaging and histologic findings in three patients with th is abnormality. The three patients were men who had symptoms of either myel opathy (n = 2) or radiculopathy (n = 1). The tumors were well demarcated, 1 .5-2.0 cm in diameter, and were located at the posterior or posterolateral portion of the thecal sac (one at the L1 level and the other two at the mid thoracic level). On MR images, the tumor showed isointensity relative to th e spinal cord on T1-weighted images, hyperintensity on T2-weighted images, and strong homogeneous enhancement on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in all three patients. In two patients, the dural tail sign was observed. C apillary hemangioma should be included in the differential diagnosis of a s pinal intradural extramedullary tumor.