Intraspinal Lymphangioma Mimicking Lumbar Disc Herniation

• Published in: Journal of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Technique
• Main Authors: Woo Seok Kim, Yong Ahn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Society 2018-05-01
• Subjects: intraspinal; lumbar disc herniation; lymphangioma
• Online Access: http://www.jmisst.org/upload/pdf/jmisst-2017-00276.pdf

Intraspinal soft tissue lymphangioma is extremely rare and very few cases of intraspinal lymphangioma have been reported. To our knowledge, most reported intraspinal lymphangioma cases manifested only pain or minor neurologic sign. We report here one case of intraspinal lymphangioma which caused profound foot drop. Total removal could be achieved by two microscopic surgeries because of initial misdiagnosis as an organized herniated disc fragment. Six months later, the weakness of her right ankle and big toe was improved to grade 3. There was no evidence of clinical recurrence or aggravation at the final followup visit. If there is an impression suggesting tumorous lesion as in our case, more aggressive evaluation and treatment policy is required to avoid unnecessary further surgery.