Intramedullary Cavernous Hemangioma as a Cause of Paraplegia: Two cases report

ABSTRACT

Cavernous hemangiomas occur throughout the central nervous system. Although they are most commonly found in the brain, the intraspinal lesion accounts for approximately 5% of all adult intramedullary lesions. Widespread use of MR imaging have led to an increase in the reported cases of intramedullary cavernous hamangiomas. Spinal intramedullary cavernomas are positioned in a particularly precarious location, and are more likely to cause clinically significant findings than cranial cavernomas. It is important to recognize cavernomas as a surgically manageable cause of myelopathy. Generally, surgery cannot cure the chronic myelopathy from cavernoma but can halt it's progression. These facts emphasize the need for early diagnosis. In our two cases, they developed initially low back pain and sensory changes of both legs and subsequently paraplegia. We report two cases of intramedullary cavernous hemangioma with the review of literatures.